Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Bag
by gothiktenkasen
Summary: After falling into Port Royal while it’s being ransacked, NAKED I might add, me not Port Royal, I play into the story, annoying Jack all the way.
1. Take a Little Tumble, Take a Little Fall

Disclaimer: I don't own POTC but I did see the midnight showing of Dead Man's Chest!

Summary: After falling into Port Royal while it's being ransacked, NAKED I might add, me not Port Royal, I play into the story, annoying Jack all the way.

Rated: T for Teen

Contents: Profanity, alcoholism and sexuality.

A/N: One quicky before we begin. Jack switches between saying "you" and "ye" specifically because will watching the first and second movie, I notice that he does that _anyway_ so, pay no heed. Thanks.

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Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Purse

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Chapter 1: Take a Little Tumble, Take a Little Fall

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I stretched and uttered a deep sigh of despair. It was Tuesday. I _hate_ Tuesdays. They're one of the most boring weekdays ever invented. Monday's a bitch because it's the beginning and the only thing standing between me and the peak of the week, Wednesday for you silly people, is Tuesday. And Tuesdays seem to drag on forever. Much like Thursdays… Well, today was Tuesday and I was browsing an antique shop, bored, yes, but also hunting. Hunting for inspiration if you're wondering. I'm not a day over nineteen and I work in this big theatre as the prop master. I make and break and fix and restore props and smaller pieces of set. Occasionally I mosey down to the costume department to sew with the boys, but that's about it. Currently though, I was in a pickle. I had to find an antique black bag to replace the one that was ruined by the crew. One of the stupid assholes spilled Fanta on the last one. _Fanta._ Why would someone who works in a theatre bring Fanta backstage? On the last dress rehearsal? I shook my head and bent to inspect some odd machine workings in a glass case.

"Careful dearie," the counter lady croaked. She grinned with gaps. I smiled back, a little nervous. Every time I walked into this _specific_ antique shop, I'd get a little jumpy. I don't know what makes me so antsy, but it's hella weird. The sooner I got out of here the better. I swirled around and spotted two black handbags. I snatched those off the shelf before striding over to the counter. One was a velvety material that felt good in my hands. The other, I'm not quite sure what it was. The fabric was thick and stiff but I decided to get both of the anyway. Hilda might want to choose between the two. Hilda was the manager of the costume department and even though the bag was a prop, it was also technically a costume piece. The counter lady stared at the stiff bag for a long time before I cleared my throat.

"Will it just be these?" she looked up at me through her fly away gray hair,

"Yeah. This'll be fine." I reached for my wallet and paid the price before hurrying out. I couldn't relax until I got inside my car and turned on the radio. I closed my eyes, trying to calm the insane rhythm of my heart. This was crazy! Why should I get so worked up over going inside a hardly impressive antique shop? Brushing it off, I headed towards the theatre, hoping Hilda would approve of the bags so I could go home. When I did get there, Hilda practically pounced on me. She scrutinized over every detail but I knew she had made up her mind the moment she saw the two bags.

"This one." She sniffed, leaning against a sewing table. She fingered the brass clasp on the velvet bag, bored and turned away. "You can go home now." Hilda instructed in a voice that reminded me of an aristocrat. I rolled my eyes.

"What about this other bag?" She shrugged,

"We're not going to use it. You're probably going to have to keep it. Besides, antique shops don't do returns." And she walked away. I sighed and headed back to my car. After sitting in front of the wheel staring blankly, I shrieked. That woman was so hideously annoying that I don't believe the devil could annoy me any further. I started the ignition and pulled out the parking lot, grumbling.

"God!" I finally said out loud, "Why does that woman have to be such a prissy bitch?"

"Maybe she hasn't been laid yet." Came a voice. I slammed on the breaks in the middle of the street and looked around my car wildly. There was no one except the black bag in the passenger seat. My eyes darted around and I resumed driving, white knuckled and dark eyes a little wide.

"Who's there?" I felt stupid and my voice sounded a little funny. Someone sighed and then everything was quite. Panicking, I sped up, going a mile or two above the speed limit and practically skidded into my driveway. Grabbing the bag, I bolted inside, turned the lock and rushed into the kitchen. I tried to make some tea, hoping the aromas would calm me down. I did a few deep breathing exercises. I know, I know. I probably sound kinda extreme, but someone just fucking answered my question when I was alone in my _car_. You could say I was a little unnerved. Flopping down on a chair, I curled up in a sort of protective ball. It was cold in my house and I was too lazy to get a blanket or turn on the heat. I set my mug down and reached for the bag. I held it for a moment and then proceeded to what some people call "obsessive nit-picking". The silver clasp was broken and wouldn't open. I screwed around with it, shaking, prying and pulling until the bag popped open. It had a musty sort of smell and a cloud of dust erupted in my face. I coughed, turning my head away and fanning the air. Taking another peek inside, I say something white and glimmering at the bottom of the bag.

"Hmm…" I slid my hand in. I didn't feel anything. Frowning, I reached in further until my entire forearm was in the bag. My arm still in the bag, I looked inside again. There was that white hot glimmer and it seemed only to be a few inches away. I stretched my fingers and reached again. With my face and arm in the bag, I heard a choking noise, like someone with a piece of food caught in their throat. Then, a swallowing noise and I was sucked into the bag towards the glimmer. It dazzled my eyes and I fell into a blind state of white.

When I regained my sight I felt the wind whipping my hair as I fell faster and faster. I screamed and fell through linens that were drying on a line. I went from clothes line to clothes line, getting closer to the ground until I landed in a pile of hay with a loud, "Oof!" I sat up, groaning and pulling bits of hay out of my hair. There was screaming and wild inane laughter. I felt the glow of fire and the air reeked of seared flesh. My senses kicked in and I made to stand up in order to carry out my animal instincts. Running away. I wasn't a coward, but with my current position I doubt anyone would argue. I stood and felt the linens slip to the ground.

I was naked. Perfect.

Snatching the sheets off the ground I toga-ed myself and ran out to get a sense of bearings. Pirates and civilians ran past me, small explosives were going out and I saw a pirate club Orlando Bloom over the head with a hatchet. Orlando Bloom plus pirates must equal… Pirates of the Caribbean!

"Well I'll be damned," I whispered, "I'm in the Curse of the Black Pearl." And something stiff and black hit me square on top of my head. "Fuck!" I stumbled from the impact and whirled around. There, lying on the ground as innocently as possible was the taut antique bag I had purchased while I was still sane. I looked around. The pirates seemed to be retreating, but I was in a sheet. Not quite knowing what I was doing, I scooped up the bag and ran. Rounding several corners and avoiding several large objects, I ended up tripping down some stone stairs.

"Shit!" Oohh that was gonna hurt in the morning. I landed awkwardly on my shin and I heard my knee pop. "Motherfucker," I groaned. I dislocated my knee. "Shit, shit, shit, shit…" Leaning against the cold wall, I hobbled down the stairs, trying not to cry out in pain. Breathing heavily, I made it to the bottom and slummed against a table with a coat and pistol and cutlass on it. I froze. _Not without my effects._ Runs through my mind.

"Jack?" I wheeze. A man looked up from the center cell and gave me an odd look. Oh God. I must look ridiculous, wrapped in a sheet, my dark hair everywhere. One hand gripping the bag, the other holding up my toga, I limped over and slid down to the floor. I moaned as my knee made contact with the metal weaving.

"Wha's wrong love?" That look is still in his eyes and it felt weird that he hadn't asked how I knew him or why I'm dressed like a loon. It felt weird that I'd so easily accepted that I'm in the Caribbean in what's supposed to be a movie for Christ sakes!

"Jack." My breath is still coming out in pants and I feel the toga slid a little.

"Is tha' all you know 'ow ta say love?" he chuckled. I glower.

"Shut up." I hiss, "I've dislocated my knee."

"Funny accent you got there love," he states, sliding his hands through the weave. His skin seemed to burn as his finger tips brushed against my knee.

"I'm not from here." It had gotten easier to breathe and I felt myself yawn.

"I noticed," he replied and with a sudden jerk, he grips, twists and I _feel_ the joint fit back into the socket. I screamed and fell back on the hard ground.

"Thanks for the warning." I snapped. He chuckled again.

"Anytime love. Anytime."

We stayed silent for a bit before he looked at me and said,

"So 'ow do ye know me name?"

I really didn't feel like explaining. I mean honestly, I'm pretty sure he'd sooner kiss Will then believe the story I've got to tell.

"Well," I hesitated.

"Well?" he prompted with a dashing smile. I sighed. This was going to be a long night.

----

"So tha' means, ye know what's going ta happen?"

I nodded and rubbed my eyes tiredly.

"But yer not going ta tell me because it might change what's going ta happen."

"That's right." I raise an eyebrow.

"Aye," he nodded sagely, "Tis for the best it seems."

"Aye," I agree.

"So, what's the future like?" he propped his chin up on his hand and looked at me intently with his russet eyes. I frowned. This really didn't seem like the Jack Sparrow I 'knew'.

"Do all the girls dress like ye?" Now _that's_ the Jack Sparrow I was talking about! I rolled my eyes,

"No. It's not. I'm just like this because when I arrived here, I-" I felt the blush creep up on my skin and my face gets a little warm, "I was naked." And I sort of ducked my head.

"Naked?" he raised an eyebrow, an indecent smirk christening his lips.

"Yeah." I felt my face color a bit more.

"And uh. Why did ye decide to wear a sheet?" He flirted. I let out an exasperated sigh.

"Because I didn't wanna get shagged in the middle of a dirt street by someone I didn't know."

He didn't respond, only looked at me with a roguish manner. I tried to flick his nose through the cell door, but he caught my hand. His hands were cough and calloused. A sailor's hands. His long fingers had a playfully tight grip on my wrist, the way one might hold a cutlass. A killer's hands. For some reason, I pulled away and absentmindedly rubbed my wrist. When I looked up, he had a bit of an understanding look, almost like he knew what was running through my head. I cast my eyes down again, feeling a bit ashamed a also, a little bit sad. I sighed. It was getting light out, might as well catch a few minutes sleep since I knew what was coming next. I closed my eyes and slipped surprisingly easily into a bleak and dreamless sleep.

A light was bright and relentless on my face and I prayed I was at home and had merely fallen asleep in my chair. I opened my eyes. No such luck. Maybe God hated me. I squirmed a bit. Jack was trying to pick the lock with a bone. I rubbed the sleep from my eyes and yawned.

"Awake love?"

"Awake." I consented.

"Would ye mind helping me a bit?" he grunted. Before I could answer, we both heard someone running down the steps. Glancing at each other. He threw himself backwards, feigning sleep. I stood, rolling my eyes, trying to make myself look decent. William Turner scampered in, looking all heroic and shit.

"Miss," he exclaimed, his rage wilting, "You shouldn't be down here!"

"Oh, get on with it," I gestured to Jack. Giving me and odd look (What is it with Caribbean men?) he resumed his anger,

"You, Sparrow!" Jack didn't bother getting up,

"Aye."

"You are familiar with the ship, the _Black Pearl_?" Will asked.

"I've heard of it," Captain Sparrow said nonchalantly.

"Where does it make berth?" Will asked.

"Where does it make berth? Have you not heard the stories?" Captain Sparrow said incredulously. Will stayed silent, and I thought I saw a trace of embarrassment.

"_Captain _Barbossa and his crew of miscreants sailed from the dreaded Isla de Muerta. It's an island that cannot be found…" The pirate began, his voice heavy with boredom and lingering with disgust.

"Except by those who already know where it is," I finished. This was taking far too long. Will looked a bit startled and Jack grinned at me in a knowing way.

"Are you a pirate?" he asked suspiciously.

"Why, yes my dear, did you not know?" My response dripped with sarcasm. Will glanced at Jack before saying,

"Then I suppose _you_ could help me," he turned to me,

"Ah, ah, ah!" I pulled away, "You'll be wanting to take him with you." I pointed at Jack. Will became quiet, studying Jack with an undeniable amount of hatred.

"The ship's real enough," he finally said, "Therefore its anchorage must be a real place. Where is it?"

"Why ask me?" Jack inspected his nails. I stifled a giggle and luckily, they didn't notice.

"Because you're a pirate." He sounded a bit exasperated and I couldn't help but feel a little bad for the poor guy. A slow smile spread across Jack's face. God, he seemed so easily amused,

"And ye want ta turn pirate yerself, is that it?"

"Never! They took Miss Swann." I rolled my eyes. Jack raised his dark eyebrows,

"Oh, so it is that ye found a girl. I see." Jack glanced at me. 'Hurry up' I mouthed, "Well, if you're intending to brave all, hasten to her rescue and so win fair lady's heart you'll have to do it alone, mate. I see no profit in it for me."

"I can get you out of here," Will said suddenly. Oh boy. He was desperate.

"How's that? The key's run off." I laughed.

"I helped build these cells. They're half pin-barrel hinges." He picked up a bench rather easily and I moved out of the way as he placed it at the bottom of the door, "With the right leverage and the proper application of strength, the door will lift free." Jack studied him for a moment.

"What's yer name?"

"Will Turner," Will answered, a bit confused. I stayed silent in the background.

"That would be short for William, I measure. Good, strong name. No doubt named for your father, am I right?"

"Yes," Will nodded and I could feel the suspicion and tension coming off him.

"Uh-huh. Well, Mr. Turner, I've changed me mind. If you spring me from this cell I swear on pain of death I shall take you to the Black Pearl and your bonny lass. Do we have an accord?" They shook hands through the iron weaving,

"Agreed." Will said firmly.

"Agreed," Jack nodded, "Get me out." He glanced at me, "Maybe ye'd like to help lassie? Right up in the front so ol'Jack can see ye…" I glared, knowing exactly what he was implying. I gripped the front of my toga,

"Pervert," I snapped,

"Pirate," He explained. Will pushed down on the bench and with a loud clang, the door came free,

"Hurry. Someone will have heard that," Will looked at me questioningly as I followed, bag in hand.

"Not without my effects." Jack seized his personals and we departed.

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Done! Now, on to chapter 2!


	2. Of Nautical Terms and Talking Bags

Disclaimer: See chapter 1.

A/N: You know, when I really think about it, I think Jack (in modern day) would listen to Red Hot Chili Peppers… Just a thought…

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Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Bag

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Chapter 2: Of Nautical Terms and Talking Bags

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We furtively ran to the harbor, me hitching up the sheet and getting a roguish wink from Jack.

"We're going to steal that ship?" Will asked, once we were safe, and I do mean that hardly, beneath the docks. He followed Jack's gaze, "That ship?" I looked in 'that' general direction only to see the _Dauntless_, proud and a bit pompous as she floated idly in the bay.

"Commandeer." Jack stated, "We're going to commandeer that ship. Nautical term." He turned, facing Will. "One question about your business, boy, or there's no use going. This girl, how far are you willing to go to save her?"

"I'd die for her," Will snapped with steely determination. I rolled my eyes, seemingly my new past time. Heroics.

"Oh good. No worries then." Jack raised both eyebrows a little. "And you, what are you doing here?" Jack asked the question but they both turned to me. I shrugged,

"I'm here for the ride."

"We can't bring her along!" Will exclaimed, facing Jack, "We're out to save Elizabeth!"

"So?" I raised an eyebrow. "Don't think I'm capable? Think I can't fend for myself? That I'm some kinda idiot? A damsel in distress?" I sneered and I noticed with satisfaction that my not-so-ladylike onslaught made Will look down and flush a bit, "At least I didn't get kidnapped." I believe I forgot to mention that I see Elizabeth with a high volume of disdain. Will's eyes flashed,

"She was kidnapped by pirates and don't tell me you could have done better!"

"I can." I responded coolly and despite our height difference, I could tell that he felt like I was looking down on him.

"Come now children. Can't have ye bickering. Dear William has a bonnie lass to save."

"Well, you ain't leaving me here or so help me I'll castrate the two of you." My eyes narrowed down to slits and Jack just kept grinning.

"So you want to be the last to see 'em, eh?" I punched him in the arm not too nicely.

"Oh, bugger." And he rubbed the sore spot. "But don't worry your pretty little head lass, ye didn't hurt ol'Jack too much," Ignoring him, I say,

"Let's go then shall we?"

In a few minutes, we were in the water, beneath a boat. Jack was in front and Will was behind me. I cursed the fact that the sheet was white, but better Will then Jack I supposed. The two of them were doing the actually walking and holding. I just held on and floated behind Jack, which wasn't so bad really. The bag rested on the bottom, but now the top side, of a seat.

"This is either madness or brilliance." Will declared from behind me.

"It's remarkable how often those two traits coincide." Jack drawled. I snorted. There came a muted crack and Will and I simultaneously looked down.

"Dork," I muttered. His foot had been caught in the lobster track. As we mulled onward, I began to wonder as to why they had taken this so easily. I was in a sheet for God's sakes! Maybe Jack brought me along for sex and Will didn't have the balls to say otherwise. Maybe he was a eunuch… When we arrived at the hull of the _Dauntless_, I stared at Jack.

"I can't climb up there."

"And why not pet?" I could hear the glee in his voice,

"I'm in a fucking sheet you douche bag." He chortled and I was about ready to strangle him.

"Well then, William, be a dear and carry Miss, ah, what's your name pet?" He had begun to make his way up the back of the ship.

"Ashlyn. Ashlyn Woods." I held on to Will as he too, climbed up. My face next to his, I could literally feel his red hot blush. "Embarrassed?" I teased. He didn't answer. I squeezed a little, taking enjoyment in watching him squirm under the presence of the, how did Jack say it? Ah yes, said strumpet. No pun intended.

He dropped me when we reached the deck and I glared up at him. He sighed and with a small apologetic smile, helped me to my feet.

"Everyone stay calm," Jack drawled, "We are taking over the ship."

"Aye, avast!" Will shouted beside Jack, his sword drawn. I groaned and buried my face in my hand, the other, holding the handle of the bag. How humiliating. The small crew laughed.

"This ship cannot be crewed by two men and a woman," A man I recognized as Gillette sneered. "You'll never make it out of the bay," I gave him my middle finger.

"Son," Jack cocked his pistol at Gillette's nose, "I'm Captain Jack Sparrow."

"Dude," I poked Jack in the back, "I need some clothes."

"Ah, then some clothes for Miss Woods," he gestured at one man.

"Ashlyn's fine, thank you,"

"Well, Ashlyn, pet, love, darling, here are ye clothes." And the man tossed me his pants and shirt. I raised an eyebrow as the other men laugh.

"Worth seeing a lassie in a sheet." He winked at me and I bared my teeth. I headed down to the Captain's Quarters to change. Setting the bag down on the bed, I let the sheet glide to the ground and shivered. I was still wet and the cool air brushed my skin like a reminiscent lover. Pulling on the pants, I sat on the bed, reaching for the shirt.

"Well it's good to see we're alone. Now I can explain." I froze. It was the same voice that I had heard in my car back in reality. "It's okay, don't panic Ashlyn."

"Where the hell are you?" My voice was hoarse.

"Sitting right next to you." My eyes slowly slid down to the bag and my panic disappeared.

"Excuse me?" There was a sigh.

"I'm the bag. A talking bag."

"Yeah, kinda figured out that last part." I snorted. I yanked the shirt down over my head. "So what the hell is this all about?"

"Ever seen Mary Poppins?" the question seemed off handed.

"Yeah," my eyes narrowed.

"Well, I'm exactly like that bag she has except I can give you practically anything you ask for." I raised and eyebrow,

"Really now?"

"Yes, really."

"Can I have a sports bra and some underwear por favor?" The bag opened and I reached in to pull out a black sports bra and some panties.

"Cool." And I began undressing. I sighed, pulling the panties on. It felt good to finally get that cotton on. It felt a little awkward prancing around in just a sheet and my birthday suit. "Do you have a name?" I swear to God that bag shrugged,

"Poppins I guess." I slipped on the pants. Before I could answer, Will came clambering down the steps.

"WILLIAM TURNER!" I shrieked, chucking the Poppins bag at him. It hit him square on the nose and seemed to bounce back on the bed. I was in pants and that was it. One hand flew up to cover my breasts, a rather hard feat mind you, the other, searching for something else to throw at him.

"That hurt you know," Poppins grumbled. Will spun around.

"Who's there?" he asked suspiciously. I turned my back to him, pulling on the sports bra and then the shirt.

"It's a talking bag Will, get over it." He looked at me like I was mad. I am not! Well, maybe just a little…

"Impossible."

"Not probable." I quipped. He shook his head in amazement.

"Deal with it." Came Poppins' haughty remark. I rolled my eyes.

"Why are you down here? No, actually, why did you barge in on me while I was naked?"

"Sparrow," he averted my eyes. "He wanted to see you."

"Fine, fine, fine," I huffed, grabbing Poppins and making my way up the stairs behind Will. "Can't you change into a backpack or something?"

"Well aren't we picky," Poppins said dryly. I rolled my eyes. With a small pop, Poppins transformed into a black, sack like back pack made of the same, stiff leathery material. I slung him… her… it, over my shoulders when Jack suddenly yanked me towards him. I gave a little squeak.

"Ye should've kept the sheet." And I smacked him before we sailed over to the Interceptor like Tarzan and Jane… Except Jack wasn't a jungle man and I wasn't a ninny. I pushed planks over the edge as Will used his hatchet to severe the ropes that would have allowed the Navy to swing back over. We heard Norrington shout a few orders and I laughed as a few men tried, and failed, to get back to the _Interceptor_.

"Thank you Commodore, for getting us ready to make way!" Jack crowed, "We'd have had a hard time of it by ourselves." And he went back to steering. I joined him and sat against the rail, Poppins at my side, explaining the bag to Jack. He took it rather well, actually, which surprised me for the most part. But then again, I shouldn't have been surprised. He's unpredictable anyway.

"Better then an animal," He shrugged and, once again, I rolled my eyes. "Be a dear and steer will you? I have to make sure dear William didn't do anything stupid." I nodded and stood, taking the wheel as he sauntered about. Will began talking, sharpening his sword like a good little black smith and then I heard the familiar part of the script,

"When I was a lad living in England, my mother raised me by herself. After she died, I came out here, looking for my father."

"Is that so?" Jack said absentmindedly as he checked the rigging.

"My father, Will Turner." Will stood to face Jack, "At the jail, it was only after you learned my name that you agreed to help." He followed Jack up the stair case towards me. Jack brushed past me to adjust a knot. "Since that's what I wanted, I didn't press the matter. I'm not a simpleton, Jack." I snorted. If he wasn't a simpleton, then why were we out rescuing Elizabeth? He ignored me, "You knew my father." I was ready to hear Jack say in a deep, mechanical voice, _"No, William, I AM your father!" _The thought sent me in a titter. Jack sighed and turned to face him.

"I knew 'im. Probably one the few who knew him as William Turner. Everyone else just called him Bootstrap or Bootstrap Bill." And he turned away. My brow furrowed slight. There was a sad, almost regretful tone in Jack's voice, but I didn't think Will heard it.

"Bootstrap?" I smiled. He sounded like a little boy realizing that Obi Won Kenobi was a true Jedi Master.

"Good man. Good pirate. I swear you look just like him." Jack took the wheel and I winced, stepping to the side. Wrong thing to say Jack.

"It's not true. He was a merchant sailor. A good, respectable man who obeyed the law." I couldn't help but feel a little bad as I literally saw Will's perfect image of his father shatter around him.

"He was a bloody pirate, a scallywag." Jack turned, a bit exasperated, and the concentrated on the horizon. I didn't say anything, thinking it was better to stay silent.

"My father was _not_ a pirate." Will's sword was drawn and I understood the anger that came with denial.

"Put it away, son. It's not worth you getting beat again." Jack didn't look at him and I felt a bit annoyed that Jack wouldn't even look him in the eye and tell him that.

"You didn't beat me. You ignored the rules of engagement. In a fair fight, I'd killed you." I felt a smirk form from Will's boyish defiance and soreness from losing.

"Then that's not much incentive for me to fight fair, then, is it?" He spun the wheel and the yard caught Will in the gut and swung him out over the sea. "Now, as long as you're just hanging there, pay attention."

"Jack!" I finally protested as he picked up Will's sword and looked him down the blade.

"The only rules that really matter are these: What a man _can_ do and what a man _can't_ do. For instance," Jack placed a hand over mine on the wheel. "You can accept that your father was a pirate and a good man or you can't. But pirate is in your blood, boy, so you'll have to square with that someday." I jerked my hand away, but he ignored me.

"Jack, don't be an ass,"

"Now, me, for example," he continued to disregard me and I let out a frustrated sigh, "I can let you drown but I can't bring this ship into Tortuga all by me onesy, savvy? So," He spun the wheel in the opposite direction and handed Will his sword, "Can you sail under the command of a pirate?" And then he looked at me "Or can you not?"

"Tortuga?" That seemed to be the right answer.

"Tortuga." Jack affirmed with a nod. "Now as for you love." He pressed me against the wheel, one hand steering, the other at my waist. I could feel a knob sticking into my back and it began to hurt like a bitch. "Where do your loyalties lie?" I wrinkled my nose.

"Certainly not in your bed." He laughed,

"Good answer, pet, good answer. Makes you funner to chase," He winked.

"It's 'more fun'," I pushed him away, "Not 'funner'."

---

I sat up in the crow's nest with Poppins, looking down as Will busied himself among the ship. It would take three days to get to Tortuga and with that incredibly opportune span of time; I knew what was going to happen. Story time. Or I could just call it 'Time-when-Ashlyn-explains-that-she's-from-the-future-and-in-the-future-this-is-just-a-Disney-movie', but that wouldn't be any fun now would it? I dangled my legs over the edge. Maybe I should just ask Jack to tell Will. Or maybe Will wouldn't ask. I hope it would be option two…

I sighed.

"What's up?" Poppins asked, sounding as concerned as a bag could.

"The sky," I replied dryly. Poppins snorted,

"No, really." I waited for a moment, watching as Jack waved his hands about while shouting something at Will.

"Nothing I guess." Poppins didn't say anything, only staying silent for me to continue. "I don't know," I propped my chin up on my palm. "I know the story, I know what's supposed to happen, but I _don't_ know how I'm supposed to fit in with all of this." The bag seemed to shrug.

"Well, you're certainly pretty, maybe you'll be snagging one of the boys." I raised an eyebrow.

"Do you have eyes? Can you actually see me?"

"Yes I can see you," Poppins snapped, "And I'm a bag so let's ignore that I have two of your five senses and get on with it."

"Alright," I pulled my hands up in a sign of surrender. "You can see and you can hear, but you're still a bag. I get it." I cast my gaze out upon the sea. "And I'm not pretty." I finished rather lamely."

"Oh?" If Poppins had eyebrows, I'm certain it would've raised one, "And why not?"

"I'm too tall to be full Korean, too short to be full white," I felt a blush crawl up my skin, "My breasts and hips are too big to be small and petite but too small to be voluptuous and appealing, I thick at the waist and my face is as round as the moon," I felt my heart thumping hard against my rib cage. I really hated talking about the way I looked. I've had a couple boyfriends, but still. I wasn't what they _really_ wanted. "I'm not as tan as they want me to be, I'm too pale, too cold, I beat the men in my martial arts lessons," This was so incredibly pathetic. I probably sounded like a Mary Sue, throwing out why society hates me, sounding eager for a compliment, like a dog begging for a bone. But I have never said all of this. At least, not in a very long time and it felt both good and sickening to finally say it. "I'm not what society wants in my world." I was sounding weaker by the second.

"Ye know what I thought you looked like when I first saw you?" I jumped at the sound of Jack's voice. I knew my face was redder then Hilda's lipstick as he leaned next to me. I looked at my feet as he gazed out to the horizon. "In yer sheet and all?" I didn't answer and Jack didn't seem to mind.

"What?" Poppins prompted. Oh, way to go, that stupid bag. Poppins sure knew how to kill a moment, but I supposed it was for the better, seeing that I was getting a tad uncomfortable after Jack had probably heard my little whine session.

"The sea." I looked up rather quickly to see he was watching me with a great sort level on intensity. "With yer hair all wild and black like the sea in her rage and your eyes cold and dark." He reached out to touch my face, "Yer skin like the white foam of the water." His voice trailed off and I jerked back, afraid that if he touched me, I'd shatter to a thousand little bits, leaving Will to clean up the mess. He grinned, "But that's what I would've said, if I were a scholarly man," I scowled and socked him in the arm. He raised an eyebrow. "That didn't hurt love." Glowering profusely, I snatched Poppins and made my way down the crow's nest. While I was half way down, I heard a muffled curse.

"Bugger, that hurt." And I snickered the rest of the way down.

---

Ah… Not as many reviews as I had hoped for, but ah well. Patience is a virtue.


	3. Tortuga

Disclaimer: See chapter 1.

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Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Bag

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Chapter 3: Tortuga

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Once on the island or rock I should say, we entered a place of pure amusement. At least, on my part it was. I grinned as bullets whizzed by in every direction, guns fired for no reason, drunken men sitting below kegs, drinking from the spout. This was _so_ much cooler then the ride at Disney Land.

"More importantly, it is indeed a sad life that has never breathed deep this sweet, proliferous bouquet that is Tortuga, savvy?" He took a passing man's cane and swung about in mock aristocracy. "What do you think?" Will glanced around before looking at me,

"It'll linger."

"I'll tell you mate, if every town in the world were like this one, no man would ever feel unwanted."

"Hey Jack?" I fell in step with him.

"Yes pet?" He eyed a couple of girls and Will rolled his eyes, a trait seemingly picked up from me.

"I need some better clothes. I'd rather reek of my own sweat as apposed to the sweat of a thirty-seven year old man." I wrinkled my nose a bit. He laughed,

"Of course love, of course. We'll hop right to it in the morn- Scarlet!" A woman with insanely red hair strutted up to Jack and glared at me,

"Who's she?" Her face was contorted in jealousy,

"Oh, no, I'm with him," and I stepped closer to Will who flushed as I pressed up against him to add to the effect. Ignoring my defense, she slapped Jack with a hearty amount of anger.

"Not sure I deserved that." Straightening up, he saw a blonde woman approach us, "Giselle!"

"Who was she?" she demanded, jerking her head over at Scarlet.

"What?" Jack feigned confusion only to be slapped again, "I may have deserved that." And I laughed,

"Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned Jack." I reminded him with a mocking smile. We made our way to the pigsty; I stayed close to Will as to, ah, prevent any other _situations_ from arising. Jack and Will scooped up two buckets of water and I stood back a little ways as Jack dumped the freezing water on a sleeping man covered in grime and mud.

"Curse ye for breathing ye slack-jawed idiot!" Gibbs roared, sitting up and sputtering as he waved his knife about. Breathing heavily, he looked at Jack, "Mother's love! Jack! You should know better than to wake a man when he's sleeping. 'S bad luck." He warned.

"Ah, fortunately I know how to counter it. The man who did the waking buys, the man who was sleeping, a drink." Jack continued his ridiculous elucidation as he knelt in front of Gibbs. "The man who was sleeping drinks it while listening to a proposition from the man who did the waking." Both Will and I looked at each other. I raised an eyebrow.

"Aye, that'll about do it." And with Jack's outstretched hand, Gibbs made it to his feet when Will decided to empty the other bucket of water on him, "Blast! I'm already awake!" Then it was Jack's and my turn to look at each other and then at Will.

"That was for the smell." And I laughed at how he tried to justify his actions. We left the sty and I could feel Gibbs' eyes studying me,

"An' who's this lass ye decided to bring along Jack?" He scratched the back of his head, "Don't look like she's dressed to be pleasurable company." I snorted,

"I'm far from it you asshole."

"And that funny accent ye got too. Where ye from lass?" Gibbs asked,

"I'll explain all that later," Jack stepped in, "But first," and we all looked up to see a sign that said _The Faithful Bride_. Rolling my eyes, we went inside. Together as a group, we side stepped and avoided the brawls and bullets and drunken whores clinging onto drunken men. I noticed Jack eyeing a particularly pretty brunette, her hair done in chestnut ringlets. I looked away, maybe a little too quickly because Will had touched my shoulder,

"Are you alright?" I saw Jack was watching us out of the corner of his eye.

"Yeah," I breathed, "I'm good." We stopped at a private room, well, as private as it could be with no doors, and Jack turned to the two of us,

"Keep a sharp eye," and swaggered inside. I rolled my eyes and crossed my arms. We stood there for a few moments, watching the people be, well, people when Will said to me,

"Jack told me your story." I looked up at him,

"Oh, good. No worries then." He didn't seem to catch on,

"Why would you worry?" Will looked a bit concerned.

"Well Will," and I nearly laughed at how ridiculous that sounded, "If I told you, I might come off as crazy, but if Jack told you, well, you already _know_ he's crazy, so you've got nothing left to do but believe him."

"Ah," and he turned to watch the people, "And what of your talking bag? Did you leave it on the ship?"

"Yeah," I murmured and glanced behind me at Jack and Gibbs. Will followed my gaze in time to hear Jack say,

"Let's just say it's a manner of leverage, eh?" I glared at him and he winked back. Will looked away quickly.

"Don't worry about it." I said through my teeth and then I softened. "I'll protect you." I whispered and I hoped to whatever Gods there were that he hadn't heard the last part. A drunken whore with teeth narrow and yellowish gray tittered as she leaned obnoxiously close to Will. He looked rather uncomfortable, the poor boy, as she shoved her cleavage practically into his face. He looked at me and I laughed before feeling a hand on my ass. Will narrowed his eyes and pulled me towards him before I could turn around and break the greasy man's nose. With a shrug, the man leered at the fat whore and pulled her away. She continued to laugh in a very annoying, very abhorrent manner. I looked back and I frowned as Jack and Mr. Gibbs toasted each other. I turned to Will,

"Jack's going to want to find some female company for tonight," I said quickly, grabbing his hand and leading the way out, "We should go book a room." He nodded and didn't protest, a trait that was starting to annoy me. I didn't really know where I was going, but I led him away only letting go of his hand to unbutton my shirt a bit.

"What are you-" but I shushed him and dragged him into a cleaner looking bar. The bartender looked up and nodded to me before I dragged Will up the stairs. "What was that?" Will turned to me questioningly as I locked the door. His eyes fell to the ground and away from the unbuttoned shirt. I shrugged.

"It was the easiest way to get in here without being questioned." I replied. Will looked a bit abashed,

"They think you're a-a prostitute?" I raised an eyebrow.

"At least we have a room, man," and he bit his lip and looked away. I rolled my eyes and sat down on the bed. "There's only one bed and don't bother saying that you'll sleep on the floor. It's not a big problem." He gave me a look. O sighed in exasperation, "It's not like we're going to _do_ anything Will." He nodded feebly and set his sword down on a hard wooden chair. I took off the shirt and boots; Will avoided looking at me the whole time. He cleared his throat uncertainly and pulled off his vest and shirt. "It's too hot to sleep in these pants." I stated, "At least for me it will be." And I, rather shamelessly, peeled off my pants and clambered into the bed.

"Do we really? I mean, I can sleep on the floor if-"

"Just shut up and get in bed." I pulled on his arm and he sat on the edge. I laid down and drew the sheet up to my shoulders. Hesitantly, Will also laid down, trying to make sure our skin wouldn't touch. I rolled my eyes and didn't say anything. "Will?" I asked after a moment.

"Yes Miss Woods?" I snorted.

"Please don't call me that."

"Yes? Ashlyn?"

"Have you ever had sex?" he sat up abruptly.

"P-pardon?" I rolled over on my side and propped up my head so I could look him in the eye.

"Oh, don't 'pardon' me! You know exactly what I'm talking about." His eyes shifted. "Well? Have you?"

"Yes. A few times."

"Okay, so you're not a pixie." He glared at me and I grinned back wolfishly. "I have. More then twice, but I didn't find my partners satisfying." I examined my nails casually before glancing up at him. "Do you think you could satisfy me Will?" I swear, that guy jumped a good foot in the air and his cheeks became a violent pink. I laughed, long and hard, "I'm kidding, I'm kidding!" I choked. "Good God Will! Do you take everything so seriously? Go to sleep." Still chuckling, I shifted to my other side and fell asleep.

---

I awoke to several movements in the bed. I blearily looked up at the window to see the full moon. I yawned, it must've been at lest three in the morning. I turned to check on Will. He was moaning softly, eyes flickering behind the lids. He was having a nightmare. I frowned and took his hand,

"Will," I whispered, "Wake up!" His brow furrowed deeply and he curled into me,

"Elizabeth!" he shouted, jolting awake. His head crashed into mine.

"Fuuuuuuuck…" I groaned "Jesus Will." He was breathing hard, a bead of sweat rolling down the side of his face. The moonlight reflected on it as it slid off and silently hit the sheet, disappearing into the creamy fabric. "Shhhh." I held his cheek in my palm, "It's okay, it was only a dream."

"Only a dream," he murmured. He looked at me, his eye unfocused as if he was still lingering in a dream world. "Only a dream," Will repeated and leaned in and kissed me. I froze and didn't complain, an odd combination. I responded, lowering him down to the pillow. He pulled away a little, enough for him to speak, "It's only a dream," and with a sleepy, sad smile, he drifted back to a dreamless sleep. I watched him for a moment before settling down next to him. His arms encircled my waist, pulling me against him. I didn't complain, but I also didn't fall back asleep.

---

When he awoke in the morning to see our position, he smiled a bit sheepishly and disentangled himself from me. I got dressed and questioned him about the dream. He shook his head, confused and looking a bit embarrassed. I didn't press the matter. If he didn't remember the dream, then he didn't remember the kiss. Besides, I had told myself coldly, he probably was still in la-la land and thought that I was Elizabeth. Though, how he had ever made that assumption, I don't know. I look nothing like her. I was dark where she was light and I was dim where she was bright. Not intelligence of course, but our eyes were definitely the biggest difference between us. Her eyes were warm and brown tinged with honey. Mine were cold and dark, like two unlit bits of coal. But no matter, it was in the past, no matter how close it seemed.

We met Jack at the docks with Mr. Gibbs; I had told the innkeeper slash bartender to put the price on Jack's tab. He had believed me.

"Feast your eyes, Captain. All of them, faithful hands before the mast, every man worth his salt. And crazy to boot." Gibbs announced proudly as we made our way down the line.

"So this is your able-bodied crew?" Will inclined with a raised eyebrow. I rolled my eyes,

"Have faith young William," I drawled, my voice heavy with sarcasm. Jack stopped before a weathered old man who stood straight, shoulders squared. Jack glanced at Will, ready to prove his point,

"You, sailor!" Jack barked.

"Cotton, sir," Gibbs supplied,

"Mr. Cotton … do you have the courage and fortitude to follow orders and stay true in the face of danger and almost certain death?" Jack waited a bit impatiently as Mr. Cotton looked at Gibbs a bit helplessly, "Mr. Cotton! Answer, man!"

"He's a mute, sir." Gibbs stepped in both apologetic and protective, "Poor devil had his tongue cut out, so he trained the parrot to talk for him. No one's yet figured how." Mr. Cotton showed us the stump of his tongue and Jack stuck his own tongue out, as if to make sure it was still there.

"Mr. Cotton's…" Jack trailed off, almost losing his leadership, "Parrot, same question."

"Wind in the sails! Wind in the sails!" the parrot squawked. The three of us looked at each other.

"We figure that means, yes." Gibbs supplied once more.

"O'course it does." Jack nodded smartly and continued down the line. Will and I looked at each other and he smiled. "Satisfied?" he asked Will smugly.

"Well, you've proved they're mad."

"And what's the benefit for us?" came a voice at the end of the line. It was too high to be a man's voice, but too rough to be a ladies. I smirked. I loved this character. We followed Jack over to the end. Jack looked cautiously beneath the wide brim of the hat and slowly lifted it off.

"Anna-Maria!" he exclaimed with a smile. She smacked him harder then the two prostitutes had. I sniggered in the background. Will leaned in with a,

"I suppose you didn't deserve that one either."

"No, that one I deserved." Anna-Maria nodded behind him.

"You stole my boat!" Anna-Maria accused him angrily.

"Actually," he began, turning back to face her. She stopped him with another slap to the face, "borrowed!" he said loudly, "Borrowed without permission. But with every intention of bringing it back to you." He grinned a bit weakly,

"But you didn't!" she shouted in his face.

"You'll get another," Jack said, thinking fast on his feet. She jabbed a finger in his face,

"I will,"

"A better one." Will jumped in,

"A better one!" Jack agreed enthusiastically.

"That one." Will pointed at the _Interceptor_.

"What one?" He turned to Will nodded at the small ship, "That one!" The entire crew looked at Jack. I laughed. He couldn't squirm his way out of this one, "Aye," he consented, "That one. What say you?"

"Aye!" Anna-Maria decided for the crew.

"Aye!" the crew agreed. I smirked. This was gonna be good.

"Anchors aweigh!" I heard Mr. Cotton's parrot shriek as Anna-Maria snatched her hat back from Jack.

"No, no, no, no, no, its frightful bad luck to bring women aboard, sir." Gibbs warned, stepping in front of Jack and glancing at me.

"I'm not sure about her," he pointed at me; I bared my teeth, "But it'd be far worse not to have _her_." Jack replied, looking up at the clear blue skies. He ventured down the dock to the Interceptor. I tagged along, looking back to see Will and Gibbs looking up into the sky.

---

A storm broke out when we were a ways from Tortuga and it came suddenly, without warning. Exactly the way a storm should arrive. Jack had commanded me to stay below, but I've been on a ship like this before. For a couple years, when I was in high school, I had worked on a replica ship like the _Interceptor_ as a tour guide. One year, we had sailed out of the harbor and got caught in a storm. I was only the second mate and it was a few years ago, but I could still work my hands like any other sailor. Just not as good.

"How can we sail to an island that nobody can find with a compass that doesn't work?" I heard Will bellow as I held on to a rope; Anna-Maria was working furiously to tie its knot. I looked up to find Jack through the rain, but I couldn't see him,

"Aye, the compass doesn't point north but we're not trying to find north, are we?" He staggered up to the wheel. "We should drop canvas, sir!"

"She can hold a bit longer." Jack's voice drifted back to me. There was a crack of thunder.

"What's in your head that's put you in such a fine mood, Captain?" Gibbs roared over the storm. I felt the life line around my waist slip a little. In all this rain and sea spray, my unprofessional knot had loosened.

"We're catching up." And a flash of lightening illuminated Jack and that was the last thing I saw before the ship gave a jerk and I spilled off the deck, falling into the dark abyss that was the sea. The moment I was below the water, the crew's voices went silent and I couldn't hear Jack or Will calling my name. My eyes were open and things looked surprisingly calm beneath the water. I tried to swim up to the surface, but I was so close to the ship, that the pull it created wouldn't let me rise. It was so calm down here, so peaceful. I never wanted to see the upper world again…

There was darkness and I felt a warm pair of lips over mine despite the cold and a breath of air slipped down my throat. I sat up abruptly, sputtering and choking up water. Anna-Maria was beside me, wiping her mouth over the back of her hand. Everyone was dripping wet and with another flash of lightening, I saw Mr. Cotton at the wheel.

"That's funny. I didn't know ye fancied women Anna-" another crewman teased before being slapped into silence. It was raining still but the waves weren't as colossal as before.

"Who?" I asked weakly. Gibbs grinned.

"Was the captain. He's the strongest swimmer, but Anna-Maria and young William here wouldn't let him give ye the kiss of life." I rolled my eyes and stumbled to my feet. I waved off Will's hand.

"I'm fine," I swallowed. Not looking Jack in the eye, I made my way to his cabin. I had slept the previous sea night in the crew's cabin with Will in separate bunks, but now that there was an actual crew, I decided that I would kick Jack out if I had to. I really didn't feel like talking or looking at him for the moment.

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Whew! Four pages! Well, all my chapters so far have been four pages, but this one has had the most words. Perhaps the next chapter will be longer…. Thanks to all my reviewers!


	4. Girl Talk and a Dance in the Sheets

Disclaimer: See chapter 1.

A/N: You know, in the movie when Jack wakes Gibbs up, I swear to God, I thought he had said "My first love!" and not "Mother's love!"

A/N: The snacks are a tribute to **shattered-demon**. Props to **DesertRoseTemari** who sent me the longest review.

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Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Bag

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Chapter 4: A Talk for the Ladies and a Dance in the Sheets

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Jack forgot to get me clothes while we were on Tortuga. But that aside, I was alone and in a lot of pain, dying almost.

I was curled up on Jack's bed in the captain's quarters. I had a cramp and not just any cramp, but MONTHLY cramps. Oh, how I despised those. I get cramps so bad, that I can't get up out of bed and just lay there, curled up holding a pillow. I moaned and turned over, clenching my teeth. Fuuuuuuuck… This sucked donkey balls _hella_ badly. I rolled over on my stomach and screamed into the blankets. God must really hate me. I felt soothing circles rubbed onto my back and I jerked up, hurting my stomach even more.

"What the fuck is going on?" I mumbled rather quickly. Anna-Maria raised an eyebrow, "What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be slapping Jack around, not helping your fellow woman?"

"I can be a woman when I want." She retorted snappishly. I looked down. That was probably the wrong thing to say, but she didn't seem to like me when we had first seen each other.

"Sorry," I muttered. She sighed.

"No, I should be." Her voice was soft, "I know I can be a bit rough at times, but… usually the women I be surrounded with are a far cry from ye are." We looked at each other for a little while before I turned to Poppins, demanding the Midol he… she… it had denied me.

"So," I began popping the pills, "why are you a pirate?" She didn't seem too perturbed by the bag. Perhaps Jack had spoken to the crew… I didn't bother saying that she didn't have to tell me if she didn't feel like it or that if she felt uncomfortable, it was okay. If she didn't want to, she didn't want to and I had a feeling that if I had said that, she would have seen it as pity.

"Me da." She looked straight ahead, jaw set, "Tried to marry me off." I didn't say anything. This was probably the most typical reason for women running off to Tortuga, but coming from Anna-Maria, it seemed a little heart breaking. "Me da… me da had a dance in the sheets with a slave girl." A rich family then. "I was his mistake." It was obvious to me when I first met her that she wasn't dark skinned just from the sun but I hadn't said anything, seeing as to how good of a bitch slap she could dish out. "So, when I fifteen, he decided that sending me off ta live with a rich old _white_ man," she spat with disgust, "Was the best thing ta do." She snorted, "I was having none of that, so I came to Tortuga." I nodded.

"Seeing that you didn't become a whore, who taught you to sail and fight?" A tired smile spread across her lips.

"Jack did, elven years ago. I met him when he still had the _Pearl_." There was a wistful look in her eyes, "Then the damn bastard stole me boat." She snarled, gritting her teeth. I grinned,

"Anna-Maria," I started rather slyly, "Do you love Jack?" She looked like I had just run her through the gut with a pike.

"Wha? No! No, no, no, no, no!" She sputtered as I kept smirking, "Nothing of the sort!"

"Then why are you here? On the _Pearl_ I mean," I shifted, "You could have stayed on Tortuga."

"It's all about the freedom," and I could see the twinkle in her eyes as she went on. I listened politely, as she had when I explained my story. Even though it was Anna-Maria talking, I knew those were Jack's words.

---

I sat comfortably in the crow's nest with Anna-Maria. She had insisted that the sea air and sunshine was good for me. As I looked out, I realized that there was no evidence of the storm. Funny how nature worked… Between the two of us was a thuper duper bag of original Doritos and two Dr. Peppers. When she had first tried the soda, she had sputtered and choked on the carbonation. Even though I would've died at her heated scowl, I couldn't stop laughing. She rather enjoyed them now and I wondered if it was a bad idea to bring items from the future into the past. Poppins assured me that it would be alright, as long as there was no recording of it. While the two, or three including Poppins, sat up there, I discovered that even though Anna-Maria was the daughter of a plantation owner, she never wore the fancy dresses and jewelry. She never had lessons and tutors. She was kept out of sight and out of mind. It had been the local African 'minister' that taught her the letters. When I say 'minister' I mean that he was one of the only slaves who could read and it was he who read the Bible to the fellow slaves.

I still hadn't talked to Jack. I avoided him as completely as I could for the past twelve hours.

"Ye'll have ta speak with him at some point," Anna-Maria had pointed out to me. You want the truth? I didn't want to talk to Jack. Why? He saved me. I know, I know, it's weird and childish and cliché all at once, but… The fact that he risked his life when I was so ready to give up mine bothered me a little.

As emo as it sounded, I had _wanted_ to stay beneath the waves. I was no longer a girl stuck in the storm, I was the _sea_. I was _freedom_. With no restraints, no limits, no chains, no laws to hold me back. I was boundless, endless, infinite, _eternal_. It was me, who sprayed upon the _Interceptor's_ deck. I was the one who churned and tossed the ship about like a toy. I was the terrible, horrifying sea that you loved and would either let you go to battle again, or swallow you into the nadir and keep you there, a captive. I felt like Calypso, the sea nymph who kept Odysseus her prisoner of love for seven years. The _Interceptor _was to be my prisoner, never to be released.

I was _power_.

When the air was forced back into my lungs and the sea water forcefully hacked up, all of it was stripped away from me and I felt naked and bare. I was alone and lost. I had become a wandering child in the darkness of my mind. I felt like a child ripped away from her mother. That's what the ocean felt like. A mother who opened her arms to me and accepted me, dragging me down to become one. Then _I_ was the mother and the storm was my _child_. I was _alive_ for once and I was in sheer bliss, even if it was only a few moments.

I supposed I would forgive him one day if not soon. I had to. If I didn't, I'd be left a vengeful, heartbroken creature, like a mermaid who couldn't return home. Vengeful? You ask. Heartbroken? You laugh. But it's true. The sea has always felt like a home. Despite the freezing waters, it felt warm and comforting. The lull of the waves was like the whispers of a forgotten love. It was the sea, ever changing yet always unchanged, that washed away my tears, never the one to break my heart. It was the sea who pushed me back up to the surface when all I wanted was to drown in her depths. The sea was my mother, my father, my sister, my brother. The sea was my friend, my teacher, my lover, my home.

But, I ramble. I would have to forgive Jack because when I truly thought about it, he pulled me away from his lady love, the sea. And even though it hurt me in the echoes of my mind, it touched me that he would take something away from the very thing he loved so deeply.

---

When Anna-Maria and I came down from the crow's nest, I made her swear never to tell of the contents in 'the bag', we were met by Mr. Cotton.

"Swab the deck!" the parrot cawed, "Captain's orders!" and he kept spewing other random sea worthy shit. Anna-Maria grinned,

"That means ye," and she practically skipped away. I scowled and went in the direction that Mr. Cotton pointed off to. I found Will, already scrubbing away at the grim on the deck. I sighed and dropped down next to him.

"Give me a rag," I said, thoroughly exasperated.

"Make sure I don't get wet," Poppins sniffed. Just for that, I flicked droplets of water on my back. Will handed me a rag with a smile. I smiled back, albeit a bit nervously. He didn't have a shirt on. But why should I care? I'd seen him shirtless before. Hell, that's the way he slept. I began 'swabbing' the deck, wishing I could just pull out a wand and say _"Scourgify!"_ and be over with it. After an hour or two of my incessant grumbling, Will sat up and wiped his forehead on the back of his hand,

"Are you alright Miss- Ashlyn?"

"I'm fine," I said shortly, imagining that the deck was Jack's face,

"I could finish if you want. We're almost done anyway…" He offered. He was sweet. He really was.

"No," I moved on to another part. I didn't want to wear the wood down. Maybe I did, because if a certain annoying pirate captain had stepped there, perhaps he would fall through… "If we don't finish together, then that means Jack is going to give me an earful and I don't feel like hearing from him."

"Is it because he saved you?" Will asked quietly. I froze and stayed silent. "You don't have to answer," he said softly. I nodded numbly and sat up. My back cracked and a cool relief spread through my body. I turned to him with a smile,

"Let's finish up, eh?" he nodded, his smile a little weak. The sun was about to go down I wanted to watch the sunset up in the crow's nest. We finished and I dragged him up the crow's nest like an impatient child. He laughed and I felt something swell within me. We stood in the crow's nest, watching as the sun sank into the ocean's embrace. I turned to look at Will. The lights cast a dazzling glow on him. His skin became a true gold and the shadows were a deep red, tinged with the jovial orange that the sun radiated at every dusk and every dawn. I smiled softly. Will always seemed to have a soothing affect on me. I don't know how long I had stood watching him, but soon, we were set in a deep violet, the brief moments before nightfall. The crew scurried below, lighting lanterns and retying knots before heading to their cabins.

"Will?"

"Yes Ashlyn?" he faced me, a gentle smile still on his lips.

"Could you- could you spend the night with me?" he raised his eyebrows and I cursed how inexperienced I sounded. He seemingly had grown used to my 'unladylike' behavior. He didn't ask why, a small favor I was grateful for. He followed me back down to the deck and I diffidently took his hand. I looked up. He smiled, a bit unsure, but he smiled. Giving me a friendly squeeze, we began to walk down to the Captain's cabin. I could feel Jack's eyes on my back and I spared him a look. I kept my face blank as he glanced to our hands. He shrugged and I led Will down the steps. We entered the Captain's quarters and he looked around, a bit awed. I smiled.

It was well furnished with gold and blues and creamy whites. He ran his hand down a piece of fine wood work as I set Poppins down. I quietly asked the bag for a chemise and pulled it out. Turning my back to Will, I undressed and slipped on the chemise. When I turned around, he was watching me, unabashed. I inhaled deeply, trying to calm the slight fluttering in my stomach. I took a seat on the edge of the bed as he prepared himself for sleep. When he turned around, with no shirt mind you, I smacked him in the face with one of the many down pillows. I laughed,

"Pillow fight!" I crowed. He grinned and obliged, ripping the pillow from my hands and hitting me on the shoulder. Rolling backwards, I grabbed another pillow and so began our war. The down feathers were flying everywhere and the air was filled with my shrieks and his laughter. In a swift motion, he pinned me down.

"Ha," he smirked, "I have you now Miss Woods,"

"Oh, whatever shall I do?" I simpered mockingly, "I have been captured by the dread William Turner! Perhaps a kiss will amend this and he shall let me go!" I reached up and kissed him on his teeth. I colored. "My aim's a bit off," I chuckled. He lowered his head and kissed me back.

"Mine isn't." We laughed and I tried to kiss him again. He jerked back and sat away from me. He looked ashamed and he averted my eyes.

"I'm sorry." He blurted, "I shouldn't have done that. We're on our way to save Elizabeth and I- I… I love her," he finished lamely. I lowered my gaze.

"Will,"

"I'm sorry. I can not ask for you for-"

"Will!" I took his hand in mine and reached to pluck a feather from his hair. "It's okay. Where- where I'm from," and I realized with a sudden shock that we were from completely different worlds. With a pang of something I couldn't name, I also realized that I hadn't thought of my time, "Where I'm from," I began again, "It's okay to ease your smaller feelings for someone despite loving someone else." And if you think about it, it's true. When a man loves a woman but goes out to a bar, he's likely to have a one night stand to satisfy a lust for another girl. The same goes for women. One night stands were one night stands, a way to make sure that small feelings wouldn't cause your love to spiral down to rock bottom. I explained that to him and he held my gaze in silence,

"Then," he started slowly, a bit unsure. Always so unsure, "Would it be alright, if I-" I didn't let him finish as I captured his mouth, fingers tracing every shape of his upper body,

"It's alright," I breathed. I heard the door creak open and suddenly snap shut. Will didn't notice; the echoing footsteps I knew so well faded. We continued, disposing of our clothes as quickly as we could. They ended up as a scattered pile on the floor amidst the down.

He was tender but sure, one of the kindest lovers I'd had in a while. He was both eager and easy to please. It didn't take that much from my side, but I intended on showing him the finer points. On entry, he was worried and gentle, afraid that I would be in pain. I laughed and told him it wasn't a problem, that I had done this before. I knew that when it was his time with Elizabeth, despite the fact that I despised her, I wanted him to be confident and know what he was doing. Will reminded me of those lovers who seemed like they would love you forever. The ones who were timid at first, not too bold, trying their hardest to make it perfect. It wasn't perfect, nothing is, I won't lie. But it was fulfilling and I knew that he was as satisfied as I was, if not more. As he drifted to sleep, our arms around each other, the sheet draped haphazardly over us, I smiled. Ha, I thought, take _that_ obsessive fan girls. And I fell into a content slumber.

---

I awoke when the sun arose and quickly skidded off to the washroom, taking Poppins with me.

"I assume you two had a nice time," it teased, " I couldn't get any sleep with the noise you two made,"

"Shove it," I snapped, "I need buckets of hot water." Poppins complied and I had to close him… her… it to get a new bucket until the silver tub was full, "Goddamn, the British sure know how to take care of their navy." I sunk into the water, washing myself and rubbing the sweat and other crap off. Poppins supplied both soap and shampoo and conversation and I bathed.

"Just put me in to empty the tub," Poppins announced. I threw it in as I wrapped myself in a towel. I watched with amazement as the bag _sucked_ the water of the tub,

"Holy shit." I blinked, "Can you turn that into clean water?" I was answered with a gurgle that suspiciously sounded like a 'yes'. I emptied the bag back into the tub to find clean water. Some bubbles escaped from the mouth of the bag. It burped,

"Never ask me to do that again," Poppins grumbled. I grinned and stepped out to see Will still sleeping. I quietly got dressed and shook him awake,

"Your hair is wet." Was the first thing he said to me. I laughed,

"Go take a bath. I'm going up on deck," He nodded and sat up. He yawned and rubbed his eyes. That boy was so adorable. "Oh, and follow everything Poppins tells you," I left.

Once on deck, Anna-Maria passed me with a smirk,

"Good Lord," she said loudly, "Couldn't get a wink o' sleep last night, did we boys?" the crew shouted their answers.

"Aye!"

"Not a wink!"

"Suppose ta two of ye had fun?" I rolled my eyes but I couldn't stop the grin.

"Satisfied?" All expression fell from my face. It was Jack, leaning against the rail. I raised my chin,

"Yes,"

"I'll be expecting ye to change the sheets pet for, ah, next time,"

"It was a one time thing." Came Will's voice. He stood next to me, trying and failing to keep the blush from his cheeks. Surprisingly, I didn't feel as hurt as I had thought I might. I looked Jack straight in the eye.

"So, young William, not a eunuch, eh?" Jack was grinning and I couldn't tell if it was a defense or genuine. I shook the feeling off. Jack could have any women he wanted. I shouldn't think that he was jealous over a little girl.

"No, he's not. Rather well-endowed young William," I jerked my thumb at him. The snickered as Will colored deeper. "Better then you could be Jack," I breathed, taking a childish and weak stab at his male ego,

"Aye, I'll be holding you to _that_ lass," His grin was confident, like I new it would be. I had just dug a hole for myself, both clichéd and stupid. But I wasn't quite sure if I wanted to dig myself out.

---

This is shorter then the others, terribly sorry. Chapter 5 will be longer.

When I talked about the sea (I got a bit carried away. It's actually how I really feel) and Jack pulling Ashlyn away, I know that the _Black Pearl_ is Jack's first love, but really. What would the _Pearl_ be without the sea?

Oh, and to **itsallaboutme**, Ashlyn is real. She's practically me. I really want to change my name to Ashlyn. My current name is far too girly for my persona.


	5. Ways to Make the Time Fly

Disclaimer: See chapter 1.

---

Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Bag

---

Chapter 5: Ways to Make the Time Fly

---

After popping some morning after pills Poppins had supplied me with, I was walking around the ship with Gibbs. The lovable old fart was explaining the ship to me. The sails were up for the light breeze, but that's all there was. A light breeze.

"An' those three sails?" he pointed at some sails at the bow, "The farthest one be the Flying Jibb. Middle one is called the Jibb and the one closest ta us be the Fore Stay Sail." I nodded to show I was listening. I had actually asked Gibbs to teach me, I had better pay attention, "Those three sails are connected to the fore mast and the bow sprit. Now on the fore mast, ye have the fore sail and the fore top sail. Same with the mast." He pointed behind us. "Main sail and the top sail. The bit o' wood that holds up the top sails are called yards, aye?"

"Aye," I felt a little silly saying that, but oh well,

"Now ye always have to be careful of these bits o' wood." Gibbs pointed directly above us, "These are called the booms. There are two of 'em. If yer not careful, they'll be the last thing you see before getting smacked into the sea." He chuckled, "Aside from that, the bottom front of a ship is called the hull and the bottom is called the keel." We walked towards the wheel, "These are the shrouds," he nodded at a couple of the crew members who sat by some intense looking rigging. He pointed ahead of us, "That be the quarter deck and below is the rudder. Ye got all this lass?" I nodded,

"Thanks Mr. Gibbs," and I trotted off. I sat in the shadow of the fore mast with the Poppins bag. "I feel weird,"

"I wonder why." Drawled the bag. I glared,

"Shove it. It feels weird being the only one without weapons. I feel like… a defenseless damsel."

"Not a good feeling, I'm guessing," Poppins said. I nodded,

"Defiantly not a good feeling, especially since when we rescue Elizabeth," I spat her name out rather venomously, "I don't want to be in need of saving."

"Ah," was Poppins only response.

"Well?" I asked impatiently after a few moments, "Aren't you gonna give me something?" The bag snorted,

"You didn't _ask_ Princess,"

"Don't," I warned, "_Ever_ call me that. _Ever_."

"Alright, alright," the bag surrendered, "What do you want?" I thought for a few minutes before saying,

"Well, everyone has a cutlass and I don't really know how to use that. I only do crazy Asian shit. Ummmmmm," I looked up and instantly regretted it. Not only was there hardly any wind, but there wasn't any clouds either. So an eyeful of sunshine for me! "I want my sai." I finally said, "I want a pair of sai knives,"

I've been enrolled in seven different martial arts throughout my entire life. Tae Kwon Do was first, strictly because my mother is Korean. I was four. The youngest you could be to start. At age eight, I was a second degree black belt. Getting a black belt is easy enough. There were nine colored belts I had to go through and to achieve the next color; I had to take two tests. Each test took place once a month. It took me two years and two months to be a black belt and two more years to become a second degree.

My father, who by that time had really gotten into the whole martial arts scene, took me to his buddy who taught Karate. I spent some time doing that and dear old dad wouldn't let me quit until I was a black belt. That was a four year process and in the middle of that, Kung Fu had caught my attention. I did about five years of that, learning some weapon handling. I took kendo for a year or two and then seven months of grueling aikido and jujitsu training. Those two were more so based on chokes and trips and pressure points so I learned rather quickly. By then, I was fifteen and up until the death of my parents the previous year, I had been home schooled. Now it was off to high school. I was awkward and socially inept and ended up working crew in all the theatre productions and being in the choir. I graduated early, thanks to mom, at the tender age of seventeen. I didn't have the time or money to enroll in a college, so I took online courses from Yahoo! Advertisements. Muay Thai was the last and hardest martial art I had done. It was developed in Thailand and there are no pads or protective gear used. You basically tried to disable your opponent's ways to injure you. You would attack the knee, the shin, the ankle, anything to keep them from being able to attack you. I had broken plenty of bones during the year and a half I had spent doing that. When I had thought back and remembered all of this, I grew disgusted. Ugh, how Mary-Sueish of me to be able to do all these things.

I sighed and popped open the bag and pulled out two sleek sai knives. I smiled. It felt good to have the familiar weight in my hands. Standing, I gave them a little twirl around my fingers. The blades gleamed in the sunlight,

"Planning on using those?" Anna-Maria asked. I turned to look at her. There was a grin on her face, her hand on her hip and a cutlass in her hand.

"If I find a worthy opponent," I replied coyly, but the smile on my face was anything but humble. I was good, I knew it and I wasn't afraid to flaunt it.

"Then I challenge ye." She announced stridently,

"And I accept," I replied just as loud. It was all in good fun, we both knew that. We also knew that the moment our blades touched, we would have to fight as though we were going to kill each other. After all, that was what made it fun. She struck out like a cobra and I only had a second to parry. I had never fought someone who used a cutlass before and this was certainly turning into a learning experience. The benefit to my sai, though, was I could attack close range. Once I got Anna-Maria into my range, we were too close together for her to attack. Unexpectedly, she sent a punch to my jaw that had me stumbling back. I felt a familiar tangy, rust-like flavor in my mouth; I had bitten my cheek. I wiped the blood off with the back of my hand and spit on the deck.

"Well, if that's the way you want to play," I murmured before throwing one of my sai at her face. Anna-Maria spun to the side and swiped downward as I made a run for my lost knife. I blocked and swung her cutlass down in an arch, causing her to slide into the fore mast. I snatched my sai just in time to do a cross block, preventing Anna-Maria from splitting my head open like a watermelon. I slipped down into the splits and scissor kicked her ankles. She fell on her rear and I kicked the cutlass out of her hand.

"Do you yield?" she grinned up at me,

"Aye," and I helped her up. We weren't breathing that hard and we were barely sweating. It was only a warm up.

"Anyone next?" Several of the crew members laughed, "Will?" I smirked at him. He shrugged, but there was a smile on his face. He drew his sword and I tensed. He was more of the professional fighter, as opposed to Anna-Maria's street style. I inhaled deeply through my nose to prevent getting a cramp before I lunged at him. We were off in a din of metal clashing and heavy breathing. His moves were a little more predictable then Anna-Maria's and his blows didn't seem as hard as they could've been,

"Aw, c'mon Will," I slipped under his defense, "Have a little fun. I can take it like a man," he grinned back and parried my thrust. I caught his blade in the curved handles of my sai. Before he could make any attempt to stab me (the only fault of catching the blade) I swung my leg up and hooked the back of my knee over his wrist and I pulled down with all my weight. We both went to the floor and by the time he grabbed his sword and was up, I made a swift hand stand, hitting him below the chin with my boots. I flipped into an upright position and spun into a hook kick, catching his neck with my knee. Breathing harshly, I watched as he rolled to break his fall. I ran and jumped, tackling so he'd stay down.

"Do you yield?" I panted, my sai crossed at his throat.

"Yes," he breathed, seeing that he couldn't nod. We helped each other to our feet.

"Ahhhh, I'm done for the day," I leaned against the mast,

"I'm sure ye got one more in ye pet," Looking up, I groaned. Jack stood with his cutlass andcoat off due to the heat.

"I honestly don't feel like it," I grumbled,

"And I honestly feel like making ye sweat a little more love," he grinned gold at me and I glared. He was trying to get me riled up. I didn't take the bait.

"That's nice." The crew looked on at our banter and seemed to share a secret smile between them. I felt cold metal caress my cheek,

"May I have this dance?" Jack's grin was cocky and suave and dripping with over-confidence. I batted away his sword with my own blade and began an onslaught of more complicated techniques. He moved like liquid; histechnique far more unpredictable then Anna-Maria's. One moment he'd be on the offense, the next, sliding into defense, nearly catching me off guard. I presented him with a well aimed kick to the shoulder. In one liquid motion he bowed down beneath my leg and delivered a swift jab to my side that I awkwardly blocked. That threw me off balance and I rolled to the railing, popping up and grabbing on to a random rope,

"No!" I heard someone shout as I hacked the rope away. I flew up and kicked Jack in the face. He went reeling into the mast and I landed heavily on the upper deck by the wheel.

"Had enough Jack?" I taunted,

"Haven't even started love," and he grabbed another rope, cut and swung up and over my head. Landing behind me, I bent over backwards and cross blocked his blow. The shock sent tremors through my body and I snarled, coming back up and swinging around and nicking him on the cheek before he jerked back. He took the offensive and almost lazily delivered blows, forcing me to walk down the stairs. I threw one sai in the air and snaked my empty hand through his defense to jab him in the shoulder. My other hand expertly flipped the sai around so that I held the blade. Catching the other sai onto the curved handle I swung the hooked blades over my head to gather momentum and with the flick of the wrist, sent one sai straight to his face. Jack dropped down and I laughed when my sai pierced his hat.

"Bugger." I heard him say before attacking me with more force. I was left with one sai knife to defend and attack but my arm was getting sore and tired. Jack didn't have to fight Anna-Maria and Will and then fight the best of the three. Dammit. I gritted my teeth and sprang, attempting to stab him. Pulling himself forward, Jack used his wrist to force my arm in an awkward direction. Hissing, I had to let go, lest my arm be broken. My last defense fell and skidded a bit before becoming still. Left to use my hands, I did some quick steps learned from Muay Thai, aiming for Jack's shins and knees. I was successful only a few times due to the fact that he had a blade to defend himself against my flesh attacks. I felt something hard against my back.

Shit, I had let myself get cornered in my anger and now the cool steel touched my throat. Jack's eyes were filled with amusement as the tip of the blade slid down, softly tearing through the fabric.

"Do you yield?" he asked, that stupid grin on his face. I inched towards him, up the blade, the shocking metal sliding against my stomach. He raised an eyebrow as my right hand fluttered to his chest. My fingers skimmed down and with a sudden tug, I had his pistol in his face.

"Not a chance,"

"Who's the winner?" someone asked. I let out a little sigh. I had completely forgotten about the crew.

"Aye, a fair question," Anna-Maria nodded sagely,

"T'would be the both of 'em," Gibbs announced proudly, "Seeing that she could pull the trigger and he could just move an inch." Jack slowly lowered his sword and I followed at the same pace.

"Lovely shirt you have there pet," Jack flashed gold and pearl. I stuck my tongue out, "Best put that away if ye won't be using it." He gave me a roguish wink. I scowled. I had definitely walked into that one.

---

A few hours later, Jack and I sat alone up on deck. The crew was below seeing that the first shift went to the captain. I had made Will change the sheets.

"Do you enjoy being a pirate?" I asked, looking up from my bottle of root beer. I didn't feel like drinking the rum Jack had offered. He nodded with a smirk.

"Ye'd be daft to even consider asking." I studied him from the starlight,

"Is there a woman?" I took a swig,

"What do you mean?" he looked at me cautiously. I rolled my eyes,

"You know exactly what I mean. Was it that brunette back in Tortuga?" I was referring to the pretty girl with chestnut ringlets that seemed to glow in the candle light… He shook his dreadlocked head,

"No, nothing of the sort pet. I can't have a woman tying me down to land." And from what I could see, a dreamy look passed into his eyes.

"Hnh. But that doesn't mean you couldn't have a lady love." It was his turn to roll his eyes.

"Ol'Jack's not too fond of commitment, savvy?" I nodded as he downed some more rum.

"So I take it you don't like marriage?" I propped my chin up on my hand. Jack looked at me, shocked for a moment before saying.

"Nooooooo. No, no, no, no, no, no, no." Jack shook his head, waving his hands about wildly, "I love women too much to get married. You see pet, if I'd get married, I'd love wo_man_." I sniggered into my bottle. "And I'm not quite sure if I'm ready to do that." I was about to ask, _Then what are you ready to do?_ But I stopped myself from falling into that one.

"How old are you Jack?" I asked, changing the subject. He raised an eyebrow,

"I'm not quite sure ye'll still fancy me if I tell ye," His long finger traced the mouth of his bottle. I snorted.

"I doubt anything would shock me now,"

"Forty-four," I sprayed root beer everywhere,

"Excuse me?" He shrugged as I wiped my face on my sleeve. Jack didn't say anything, "Damn," I whispered.

"Sorry if I disappointed ye love," He grinned. I shook my head,

"No, no. It's alright. You know what they say. Wine is far better aged. Or something like that." He laughed and it was then that I thought how much his voice sounded like the waves.

"And yerself?" He leaned towards me on his elbows, "How old are you Ashlyn?" I raised both my eyebrows. I couldn't recall the last time he actually had called me by my name,

"I'm nineteen. I'll be twenty on the seventh of May." Jack nodded,

"In a few weeks then." I looked up,

"What day is it?"

"The sixteenth of April." And we lapsed into silence.

"Oh, Jack," I said suddenly.

"Yes love?" his voice was calm and quiet, like the sea before a storm. A bit out of character if you ask me.

"Why did you let me come?"

"Do you regret it?" I smiled and I almost thought he looked a bit sad in the darkness,

"Not yet."

The silence stretched on and I didn't bother telling him that he hadn't answered my question yet. As we sat together, I realized that I never could've stayed angry at this man who so casually relocated my knee for me the first time we met. His suggestive remarks and quirky looks and a voice that sounded like the waves would've eventually won me over. Eventually. I stared out into the inky blackness, not able to tell where the sea ended or where the sky began. Eventually, I'd have to return home. I would have to leave all this behind and sink back into the cycle of normalcy, something I wasn't looking forward to. I would miss my boyish lover, the sarcastic misfit daughter, the superstitious old fart and the pirate captain who would never love anything more then the sea and his _Black Pearl_. I sighed.

"Something bothering you love?" He opened his arms a bit and I saw that as an invitation to crawl over. "Anything ol'Jack can fix?" I could feel him leering at me and I resisted the temptation to happily remove his most prized possession. Instead, I thumped him on the chest. Once I was comfortable in his arms, I shook my head.

"Just thoughts of the future." I closed my eyes,

"Aye?"

"Yeah. Just," I yawned a bit, "Just remembering that I'll have to go back," I snuggled closer, inhaling his scent. It was practically what I had expected it to be. Rum. But beneath the alcohol, I could smell the Caribbean sun and the spray of the sea and I felt like I was home. I mentally shook my head at the thought. Jack? Home? HA. That'd be something to laugh about in the morning.

"It's late." He pulled me up,

"Well then there was no point in having me dozing off in your arms," I replied a bit snarkishly.

"Aye there was."

"And what was that?" my eyes narrowed suspiciously as we walked down to the Captain's cabin,

"Now all I have to do think of the noises ye made and you in my arms and I can imagine what ye did with young William." I glared at him indignantly,

"Pig," I snapped,

"Pirate," he explained before waltzing off to go wake up Anna-Maria for her shift. I went inside and requested a chemise and another change of underwear from Poppins.

"God, how many times can you change your underwear?" Poppins asked exasperatedly.

"Well I don't have the time to bathe," I sniffed, "So I'll change to feel clean." If the bag had eyes, I swear it would have rolled them. I slipped between the sheets and shut my eyes just as Jack came in. I heard him remove his effects and boots and hat and such but he didn't come to bed. I cracked open and eye and watched as he inspected a map on one wall. Mumbling to himself, Jack pointed and poked a bit at the parchment.

"I know you're awake love," And I buried myself in the soft fabric, falling asleep to his amused chuckles.

---

Oh goodness. Thanks to all of my reviewers. I wanted this chapter to be longer but… errrrrr… How frustrating. If it's not too much trouble, please tell me when Jack seems out of character. I hate writing and not realizing any character mistakes.

Thank you.

Reviews love. Love makes the Author feel good and write more.


	6. If the Worst Should Happen

Disclaimer: See chapter 1.

A/N: I'm sorry to all of you who thought Ashlyn proved herself a little too quickly. Personally, I've seen too many stories where the OC arrives and wins and rubs it in Jack's face or the OC arrives and loses and as a penalty, the OC has to kiss Jack. I didn't want Ashlyn to lose, but I didn't want her to win either, so I had them at a draw. Besides, it's more interesting that way and builds up the sexual tension.

A/N: Screw it. I can't wait till tomorrow to post this chapter. I've already written up to chapter 8 and I'm currently working on chapter 9 since I'm bored out of my mind. Jesus Christ.

---

Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Bag

---

Chapter 6: If the Worst Should Happen

---

When I awoke the next morning, I was alone in bed. I raised my eyebrow; I didn't take Jack as a morning person. I sure as hell wasn't. I rolled out of the tangle of sheets and landed on my face.

"Ow. Motherfucker." I mumbled into the carpet. I sat up and rubbed my face. My hair was probably a rat's nest and I would bet twenty bucks I had dark circles the size of tennis balls beneath my eyes. I knew what would wake me up. But it wasn't here. I turned to Poppins who was snoring lightly. I rolled my eyes. Go figure.

"Hey," I shook the bag,

"Whaaaaaaaaaaat?" Poppins whined.

"Shut up. I want my iPod."

"You shouldn't bring stuff like that here." It grumbled. I shrugged.

"They're all illiterate except for Anna-Maria and Jack so it's all good," I pointed out. Consenting to my pseudo-logic, I actually didn't know if it was just those two, it popped my iPod video into existence. "Sweeeeeeet," I crowed, putting on the ear-buds. I turned it on to _Les Miserables_. I switched to _Lovely Ladies_. By the time I was dressed, in a new shirt not the ripped one, it had gone to _Fantine's Arrest_ when Valjean intervened. I sighed happily. Valjean's voice was one of the best. Slinging the Poppins bag over my shoulder I went on deck. We had entered a lagoon filled with mist. A ship's graveyard. I felt a chill go down my spine and put my iPod away.

"Dead men tell no tales" I heard the parrot croak. I made my way over to Will and Mr. Gibbs who was leaning against the rail, looking out with the rest of the crew.

"Puts a chill in the bones how many honest sailors have been claimed by this passage." Gibbs nodded at the wreckage. Will was watching Jack who closed his compass at Cotton's 'what the hell?' stare.

"How is it that Jack came by that compass?" Will asked as we followed Mr. Gibbs to the rigging.

"Not a lot's known about Jack Sparrow before he showed up in Tortuga with a mind to go after the treasure of the Isla de Muerta. That was before I met him, back when he was Captain of the Black Pearl." He took a drink from his small leather flask.

"What?" I smacked my forehead as tubby choked at bit. Way to go Gibbs, way to go. "He failed to mention that." I looked at Will to see the trust he had in Jack fractured.

"Well, he plays things closer to the vest now. And a hard-learned lesson it was. See three days out on the venture the first mate comes to him and says everything's an equal share. That should mean the location of the treasure, too, so Jack gives up the bearings. That night there was a mutiny." Will's head snapped back around to meet Gibbs' gaze, "They marooned Jack on an island and left him to die but not before he'd gone mad with the heat."

"Ah." Will nodded with dawning comprehension, "So that's the reason for all the…" and he did his rendition of Jack. I rolled my eyes.

"Reason's got nothing to do with it." Mr. Gibbs crouched down and Will and I followed suit, "Now Will, when a man is marooned he is a given a pistol with a single shot – one shot. Well it won't do much good hunting or to be rescued. But after three weeks of a starvin' belly and thirst, that pistol will start to look _real_ friendly." He placed his two fingers against his temple, "But Jack – he escaped the island, and he still has that one shot. Oh, but he won't use it, though, save for one man. His mutinous first mate."

"Barbossa." Will finished.

"Aye."

"How did Jack get off the island?" Oh this was going to be good.

"Well, I'll tell ye." He began, starting to gesture to prove his points. I'd laugh if I found out he was secretly Italian. "He waded out into the shallows and there he waited three days and three nights till all manner of sea creature 'came and acclimated to his presence. And on the fourth morning, he roped himself a couple of sea turtles, lashed 'em together and made a raft." He finished proudly. I rolled my eyes and snorted.

"He roped a couple of sea turtles?" Will looked quite serious.

"Aye, sea turtles."

"And I'm the queen of a tropical island of pygmies," I replied dryly. The midget turned around,

"All hail the queen!" and returned to work.

"What did he use for rope?" Will asked, ignoring what just happened.

"Human hair…" Came Jack's voice from behind us, "From my back." I wrinkled my nose. "Let go of the anchor!"

"Aye! Let go of the anchor, sir!" the crew chorused before rushing off to follow orders.

"Young Mr. Turner and I are to go ashore." And he turned. I stood and grabbed his arm,

"I'm coming with you," He raised an eyebrow,

"Love,"

"Don't 'love' me," I snapped, "I'm coming with you," and I stalked back over to Will.

"Captain!" Gibbs stopped behind Jack, "What if the worst should happen?"

"Keep to the code." Jack replied with no hesitancy.

"Aye, the code." Gibbs nodded sagely. Will grabbed on to my arm,

"Sorry," He murmured. I held his hand and gave a friendly squeeze. He was afraid.

"It's alright." I whispered. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Jack pull Gibbs a bit closer to him,

"If the worst does happen." Jack said quietly, "I want Miss Woods to be on this ship, locked in my cabin." And he walked away.

"Aye sir." Gibbs answered softly before turning to look at me; I whipped around, not willing to watch Jack fade in the mist.

---

Will and I sat close together in the small rowboat as Jack rowed us into the cave. Will looked around as he held up the lantern, clearly curious. I had decided to keep quiet through this part. He started a bit when the light illuminated a half rotten corpse.

"What Code is Gibbs to keep to if the worst should happen?" His voice was a little high and I gave his arm a comforting squeeze.

"Pirate's Code." Jack replied, "Any man that falls behind…is left behind.

"No heroes amongst thieves, eh?" he asked, glancing back at Jack.

"You know, for having such a bleak outlook on pirates you're well on your way to becoming one." There was grim amusement in his voice, "Sprung a man from jail, commandeered a ship of the Fleet, sailed with a buccaneer crew out of Tortuga…" We looked over the edge to see a glimmer in the water. Gold. "And you're completely obsessed with treasure." We pulled up to a small shore.

"That's not true. I am not obsessed with treasure." He snapped defensively. I rolled my eyes, but kept my mouth shut.

"Not all treasure is silver and gold, mate." Jack answered looking down at Will. We climbed up, joining Jack to look down at the gathering.

"Gentlemen, the time has come! Our salvation is nigh! Our torment is near at end." A smile spread across my lips. I _loved_ Geoffrey Rush. He was an excellent actor and the way he played Barbossa was _awesome_.

"Elizabeth," Will breathed. I snorted and the two shot a look at me. Barbossa and his crew went on with their miniature self pity speech.

"Jack!" I rolled my eyes when Will gave a start only to be pulled back my Jack. My eyes widened when he upset some of the treasure causing plates and a goblet and coins to jangle on the way down. I ducked out of view when the monkey looked over at us.

"Not yet." He yanked him down a little further. "We wait for the opportune moment." Jack breathed.

"881 we found but despaired of ever finding the last." We heard Barbossa shout. Will and I followed Jack back down.

"When's that?" Will snapped, "When it's of greatest profit to you?"

"May I ask you something?" Jack turned around, eyes a bit wide, "Have I ever given you reason not to trust me?" He got obnoxiously close to Will's face and I saw Will's refusal to cringe, "Do us a favor – I know it's difficult for you," it sounded like he was talking to a child, "but please stay here and try not to do anything stupid." I smirked and held Will back as Jack made his way over. I put a finger to my lips when he looked at me, albeit a little hurt.

"Wait for the opportune moment," I whispered and he nodded numbly. We stood around for a minute or so before he pulled me over to set Barbossa's crew oars in our boat. Picking up one of ours, he slunk over to where Jack was,

"No!" I hissed. The wooden oar made contact with Jack's thick skull.

"Sorry, Jack." He said with fierce determination, "I'm not going to be your leverage." He threw me the oar and I set it on the ground next to Jack before running after him. He whipped around,

"No," he murmured, "Stay in the boat. We need to make a fast get away."

"And what about Jack?" I growled, "At least help me get him in the boat." He shook his head,

"Elizabeth needs me," I glared before pulling him down into a kiss.

"That may be the last time I'll be able to do that," I breathed. He gave me a sad smile before running off to save his bonnie lass. I dropped to my knees and took a deep shuddering breath before placing my head in my hands.

"Hey," Poppins whispered, "Get back in the boat," I nodded dumbly and sat in the boat, waiting for Will and Elizabeth. Thoughts of Jack had wandered away from my mind as I sat in a numb silence. They came back, dripping wet,

"Who's she?" Elizabeth demanded. I nearly expected her to slap Will across the face,

"A friend," he replied shortly. He nodded and I stepped out, pushing the boat off the shore before hopping in. Will rowed us back to the _Interceptor_ and all the while, Elizabeth kept shooting the two of us suspicious glances. Will and I avoided eye contact as I emptied the oars over the die. Elizabeth kept silent. We boarded the _Interceptor_. I went up first and grabbed Elizabeth, unceremoniously dumping her on deck. It wasn't that hard, seeing what a little waif she was.

"Not more pirates." She shook head in disbelief.

"Welcome aboard, Miss Elizabeth." Gibbs smiled, stepping up.

"Mr. Gibbs?" I swear, that girl's eyeballs were going to pop out of her skull. I rolled my eyes.

"Hey, boy, where be Jack?" I helped Will on deck and we made eye contact.

"Jack? Jack Sparrow?" Elizabeth rounded on Will.

"He fell behind," I said quietly as he led the annoying girl away. The crew was abashed, looking at each other with great sorrow.

"Keep to the code." Gibbs finally shouted.

"Weigh anchor! Hoist the sails! Make quickly, divvies." Anna-Maria barked, quickly stepping into her role as first mate. I headed below, almost imagining Jack's hand on my waist, leaning in to whisper a _What's wrong pet?_

I made the mistake of thinking I made it right before he sat down with Elizabeth and I walked in.

"What sort of a man trades a man's life for a ship?" her royal majesty snapped, trying to bandage her hand. Will's eyes went a little wide when he saw me and I whipped around, hiding behind some barrels.

"Pirate." Will explained, "Here. Let me." And with all the tenderness of a lover, he began to gently wrap her hand. I felt a small stab of what I hoped wasn't heart break. Will had been a one time thing. A fleeting experience. A few laughs for the morning. Then I suddenly wished that Jack was here.

"Thank you." She said delicately. I nearly gagged. How much more romantic could it get?

"You said you gave Barbossa my name as yours." I snorted softly. "Why?"

"I don't know." I heard the sound of fabric rearranging itself. She had shrugged. In all her girly-ness she pulled her hand away. I peeked up over the barrel.

"I'm sorry." Will smiled albeit a little sadly, "Blacksmith's hands - I know they're rough." Psh, I didn't complain about rough hands when he-

"No…I mean yes, they are but… but don't stop." I had said that last part too a few nights ago. I smirked. Wonder what _sweet_ Elizabeth would think if she found _that_ out.

"Elizabeth." His hand cupped her cheek and traveled south. I rolled my eyes. If this got any sappier, I'd puke so I turned away and went up on deck so I wouldn't have to hear anymore.

"You okay kiddo?" Poppins asked softly,

"Yeah," I smiled though my brow creased, "I'm okay,"

---

Oh ho, done with chapter 6. We're so close, so close to finishing. Ah, yes, if you're curious about future POTC fics, take a look at my profile.

Also, I noticed that this story is on 19 people's alert list and yet only two or three of them review regularly. Hmmm…

Much thanks.


	7. Tally Ho!

Disclaimer: See chapter 1.

A/N: Wow, my story must be getting crappy.

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Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Bag

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Chapter 7: Tally Ho!

---

The moment I was on deck, Gibbs rushed over to me,

"Where's Will and Miss Elizabeth?" he asked,

"Why?" he pointed out to the horizon where a deep fog came swiftly towards us,

"It's the _Pearl_," I whipped around and began lowering the sails with Mr. Cotton's help.

"Hands aloft to loose t'gallants! With this wind at her stern, she'll carry every sail we've got." Mr. Gibbs roared.

"What's happening?" I turned to see Elizabeth. I sent her a hard look before returning back to work.

"The _Black Pearl_, she's gaining on us." Anna-Maria shouted from the wheel. I ran up to stand with her.

"This is the fastest ship in the Caribbean." Elizabeth protested. I snorted,

"Fastest ship my ass," Anna-Maria nodded in agreement.

"You can tell them that after they've caught us." I could tell she didn't care much for the princess either.

"We're shallow on the draft, right?" She demanded. Anna-Maria looked at me questioningly.

"Aye." She finally answered.

"Well, then can't we lose them amongst those shoals?" Oh no. I wasn't letting this puff have all the fun.

"We don't have to outrun them long, just long enough." Gibbs agreed.

"Lighten the ship, stem to stern!" Anna-Maria bellowed, "I hope to God this works," she whispered to me. I shook my head,

"It won't."

"Anything that we can afford to lose, see that it's lost." Mr. Gibbs ordered the crew and they hurried to comply. I saw Will come up and I ran to him,

"Will,"

"Ashlyn!" He met me half way and I threw my arms around him, "What's happening?" I pulled away slightly, keeping my hands at his,

"It's the _Black Pearl_," he nodded, understanding. His eyes left mine to stare behind me. I turned to see Elizabeth huff, before spinning on her heel, "Sorry," I muttered and he didn't say anything. A sailor was trying to push a canon over board before Will stopped him.

"We're gonna need that." I darted back up to Anna-Maria. My eyes went wide at how close the _Pearl_ was.

"It was a good plan…up 'till now." There was a mix of disdain and loss in her voice.

"Gibbs!" Will ran up to us, "We have to make a stand. We must fight! Load the guns!" I rolled my eyes. Ever the hero.

"With what?" Anna-Maria asked skeptically.

"Anything. Everything!" Will threw his arms up in the air. "Anything we have left." I saw Gibbs hesitate before yelling,

"Load the guns!" he turned to face the crew. Anna-Maria looked Heavenward, "Take shot and langrage. Nails and crushed glass! With a will!" Gibbs looked over the railing before bellowing at the crew. "The _Pearl_ is going to luff up on our port quarter. She'll rake us without ever presenting a target."

"Lower the anchor on the starboard side!" I said quickly. Elizabeth shot a furious look in my direction.

"It certainly has the element of surprise." Will nodded in agreement.

"You're daft, Ashlyn! You both are!" Anna-Maria tried to reason with us. A smirk spread across my face.

"Daft like Jack!" Gibbs grinned, "Lower the starboard anchor! Do it, ye dogs, or it's you we'll load into the cannons!" The crew hastily obeyed.

"Let go." I whipped around to Anna-Maria. She let go and stepped a little away. There was a sudden jolt when the anchor caught something and I went flying into Will. He caught me and held on to a rope to steady the both of us,

"Are you alright?" he asked gasping. I nodded,

"Elizabeth needs you." I wheezed. He swallowed and let go of me, making his way over to her. _Shit_. I groaned and slid to the floor, clutching my stomach. My cramps were back.

"Ashlyn!" Anna-Maria was at my side, "Is it yer cramps?" I nodded numbly before we were both doused in the freezing sea water. I shrugged Poppins off,

"Midol, now." I panted. The bag complied without comment and I swallowed the pills with a hand full of sea water, not caring that I choked and sputtered.

"Keep us steady now." I heard Will say. I stood, grimacing, Anna-Maria at my elbow,

"I'll be fine I told her. I'm just an idiot that's all," she offered me a weak smile before going off to prepare. I swung Poppins back onto my back. "Give me my sai," and I reached back and pulled out the familiar twin blades.

"Now!" Will hollered. I heard a similar command come from the _Pearl_.

"Fire all!" Elizabeth and I shouted together. Gibbs threw me a rifle and I shot at the members of the _Pearl_, a voice in the back of my mind screaming that they couldn't die. The canon fire continued and I grabbed another rifle, aiming and hitting my mark.

"We could use a few more ideas, lass." Gibbs nodded from beside Will.

"Your turn." Elizabeth turned to me snidely,

"Listen you _bitch_," I snarled, "Now's not the time to act like you're the queen, you either shut up and follow orders or I'm gonna bust your head like a piece of fruit," Her mouth had dropped open in shock,

"Ashlyn!" Will threatened, grabbing my arm. I jerked away and glared.

"We need us a devil's dowry." Gibbs fired his rifle.

"We'll give them her." Anna-Maria snapped, bearing her teeth and pulling Elizabeth close with her pistol to the girl's temple. Elizabeth choked.

"She's not what they're after." Will said suddenly. Elizabeth looked down and searched for the Aztec gold. They had left it on the table.

"The medallion." She breathed. Will froze before dashing off to find it.

"No!" I shouted, "Will, don't!" I was grabbed from behind and Anna-Maria and I went tumbling down.

"Johansson!" Anna-Maria barked, "Get yer arse over here!" a burly pirate looked up and quickly came over,

"Aye, ma'am?" He was tall and well equipped in the muscle department.

"We need to lock Miss Woods in the Captain's quarters," Gibbs ordered. Johansson nodded and grabbed my arm.

"No!" I thrashed and Anna-Maria took a firmer grip on my other arm, "No! You don't know what's going to happen! You can't!"

"It's the Captain's order," Gibbs tried to explain gently,

"No!" I squirmed and struggled against Anna-Maria and Johansson, "I will _not_ be locked in the captain's quarters!"

"Sorry Ashlyn," Anna-Maria whispered as the hefty pirate threw me in. She locked the doors before I could stand,

"No!" I screamed, banging on the doors, "Let me out!" I kicked the door, "Anna-Maria! Anna-Maria!" I growled and picked up a telescope, hurtling it at the door. I picked up other, expensive looking things, chucking them at the door in my anger.

"Ashlyn?" Poppins asked meekly,

"What?" I snarled.

"Maybe it's for the best." Wrong thing to say you piece of shit! I yowled and threw myself at the door. I slid down to the carpeted floor,

"I can't even help him," I whispered after a few minutes, willing myself to be calm.

"Who?" Poppins asked softly,

"Jack," I said. "I can't even-" I blanched. "Shit,"

"What?" I scrambled to my feet and ripped the bag off,

"Give me a lock pick,"

"Why?" Poppins sounded confused. Why was it dawdling?

"The fucking ship's gonna blow up, that's why!" I shrieked. If the black bag could've paled, it would have. I reached inside and out came a lock pick. Shouldering the bag, I knelt before the door, working furiously to unlock the brass handles. As I sat there for what was a few minutes in reality, but hours in my mind, I thought back, er, forward actually, to the year 2006. It had been about eight or nine days since I had been here in the Caribbean. So much had happened in this short amount of time. I didn't want to let it go. I began to wonder. How was my cat doing? Was he okay? He knew if I ever disappeared, he'd leave through the back door and eat the neighbor's cat food. How was the theatre? Were my boys down in the costume department alright? I snorted. I'm sure Hilda missed me _loads._ What would I tell them when I got back? I glanced at my hand. My normally, alabaster skin had gained a healthy glow from my days out under the sun and on deck. They would find that suspicious. What would I say? Oh, sorry I didn't tell you earlier, but I decided to have a secret rendezvous to the Caribbean since, you know, I have _so _much money. NOT. I sighed. What the hell was I going to do?

I froze, a bit shocked. Was I really thinking about what I would have to say to everyone when I got back home? Did I dislike it here that much?

"Hey Poppins?"

"Yes?" there was no witty reply or crass remark,

"What happens if I die here?" I asked quietly, my hand limps in my lap. The bag remained silent.

"You go back to your world," it finally said. I swallowed. I wasn't afraid to die but the prospect of getting shot or something and then fading out of this existence and back into my own was a little worrying. I wouldn't be able to say goodbye if I died on impact. I bit my lip. If I did, in fact die, I'd be with Jack but did that really make a difference? Or would he make me stay in Port Royal with Will and Elizabeth? Would I even be around at the end of this adventure? What if, when it was all over, I popped back into my world?

"Poppins? What happens when all of this ends? DO I go back to my world or-"

The doors swung open, hitting me in the face. I went flying backwards and hit my back on the table. I groaned and sat up abruptly, clutching the back of my head in one hand. Two pirates stood in the door way.

"Well looky what we found…" One pirate sneered. The other laughed. They weren't Pintel and Ragetti, so I actually had to be concerned for my well being. They approached me and I moved back, only to hit the table again,

"We won't hurt ye," The one who laughed cooed.

"Yeah," the other leered at me, "I'salright." I hissed.

"Oooo, a wild cat we got here," and just to prove his point, I lashed out with my nails. The pirate yowled.

"You'll pay for that poppet," and they pulled me up by my hair,

"To the _Pearl_," snapped the other, "For some reason, tha' glare she's got reminds me of the same one Bootstrap had," And at those words, a plan began to form in my mind.

---

EW! This was remarkably short. That disgusts me. Only three pages.

I HAVE JUST DISCORVED JACK'S THEME SONG.

Not the instrumental that the movie provides, no, no, no. It's called 'Hey oh Captain Jack' and I believe it's either by Captain Jack or the General. It's techno/dance and it CRACKS ME UP! I love this song, it's so amazing. Ha, ha.

And yeah, I know, I so totally stole Elizabeth's lines, but c'mon. Since when do governors' daughters in the sixteenth and seventeenth century learn how to fire a gun and shout commands aboard a ship?


	8. A Convincing Act

Disclaimer: See chapter 1.

A/N: Seeing that I've already finished this entire thing, I'll be posting the chapters randomly today.

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Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Bag

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Chapter 8: A Convincing Act

---

I was dragged kicking and screaming back to the _Pearl_, clawing and biting at my captors. Finally, one of them backhanded me across the mouth,

"Would you just _shut_ your damn _mouth_?" hissed the one who hit me. I spat in his face as my answer. They pushed me into some other crew members who held me stiff by my arms and yanked my hair,

"Aye, don't let her move," snapped the other, nursing the bite mark I had left on his hand.

"If any of you as much as thinks the word 'parley,' I'll have your guts for garters." I heard Pintel snarl. I couldn't see anyone, the wall of men in front of me was that thick. I heard an explosion. I blanched. The _Interceptor _blew up,

"Will!" I jerked forward.

"You've got to stop it!" I heard Elizabeth scream at Barbossa, "Stop it!"

"Welcome back, Miss. You took advantage of our hospitality last time. It holds fair now that you return the favor." And I heard plenty of men's joyful grunts and approvals as Elizabeth shrieked indignantly.

"Barbossa!" I looked up. Will stood on the rail, sopping wet from his adventure in the sea. I suppressed a grin, knowing that everyone had turned to face him.

"Will." I breathed. I heard him cock a pistol.

"Oh, no," I groaned, "Dammit he's going to do something stupid." I grumbled, "Bloody bastard,"

"She goes free." I could tell from the men around me that they were either confused or didn't care.

"What's in your head, boy?" Barbossa asked with a mocking tone. I struggled to see him, but to no avail.

"She goes free!" I heard him repeat threateningly.

"You've only got one shot, and we can't die." Barbossa chuckled.

"Don't do anything stupid." I heard Jack beg. I could hear Will's heavy breathing,

"At least let my hair go," I snapped at one pirate. He ignored me.

"You can't. I can." I groaned. When I got my hands on that boy, oooo, I'd be sure to turn him into a eunuch!

"Like that." Jack sighed, bordering defeat.

"Who are you?" Barbossa asked, clearly not amused anymore.

"No one. He's no one. A distant cousin of my aunt's nephew twice removed. Lovely singing voice, though – eunuch." Jack spewed quickly. I rolled my eyes. Like that was really going to work.

"My name is Will Turner. My father was Bootstrap Bill Turner." Will announced, "His blood runs in my veins." Ohhhhh, so _two_ could play at that game. I attempted to bite someone, but a piece of rope became my gag. It was moldy and I could taste the salt of the ocean still clinging to it. I choked and gagged, but they wouldn't let me go; only loosening it so I wouldn't puke all over them.

"He's the spitting image of ol' Bootstrap Bill come back to haunt us." Ragetti's voice wavered as it dawned on the crew.

"On my word do as I say, or I'll pull this trigger and be lost to Davy Jones' Locker." I snorted. I was definitely going to kill him when this was all over with.

"Name your terms, Mr. Turner." Barbossa said in pseudo- civility.

"Elizabeth goes free."

"Yes, we know that one. Anything else?" Barbossa asked, a bit exasperated.

"Ashlyn. Ashlyn is also to be set free."

"Who?" I finally tore an arm away from the pirates and pulled the gag out of my mouth.

"He means me," I hacked and coughed. I shoved myself free from the two pirates. Two could _definitely_ play at this game. "My name is Ashlyn Turner." Barbossa laughed,

"What do you think you're doing?" Will asked me angrily.

"I don't think so miss," _Shit_. I had to think fast on my feet.

"Then you'd be sadly mistaken," I shrugged, "Who cares anyway? I'm not the cursed one," If there was one thing I learned about lying, it was to sound as confident as possible while doing so. Barbossa growled.

"How do we know yer Bootstrap's daughter? Ye look nothing like him," Taking a chance and doing what a Mary-Sue would, I turned around and socked Pintel in the face,

"That's how," _No one_, and I mean that sarcastically, could withstand the _awesome_ power of Mary-Sue.

"Felt just like Bill's," Pintel groaned, clutching his nose,

"And how do you know that I don't look exactly like my mother?" I lying as quickly as I could, trying not to stumble over my words and make a mistake,

"Ashlyn don't!" Will shouted.

"Besides!" I said loudly, "Do you know where your crew found me?" Barbossa narrowed his eyes,

"Where did me crew find ye?" he sneered.

"Locked away in the captain's cabin. Captains orders," and I jerked my thumb at Jack who was trying to worm his way out of his captor's grasp.

"We should take both of 'em," spat the Jamaican pirate, "And spill both their blood," Another nodded,

"Aye, so there won't be a chance of mistake in case on of 'em's lying," The rest of the crew agreed and Barbossa consented,

"Then you shall be joining us, _Miss Turner_," and he gave me a sweeping mock bow. "Anything else Mr. Turner?" he asked, turning back to Will.

"The crew – the crew are not to be harmed."

"Agreed." Barbossa said, taking a few steps forward. This wasn't going to go well. In the next few minutes, Elizabeth was shoved towards the plank and Will and I were held back to watch as a tiny island came closer and closer into view.

"Go on, Poppet, go! Walk the plank!" Pintel taunted; a group of jeering pirates had their swords out and were goading her into walking off.

"Barbossa, you lying bastard! You swore she'd go free!" Will lunged, struggling against the men who held him back. I rolled my eyes. _Jesus_, people do stupid things when they're in love!

"Don't dare impugn me honor, boy." Barbossa snarled. He was, indeed, an intimidating figure, "I agreed she'd go free, but it was you who failed to specify when or where." He chuckled as Will was gagged. "Though it does seem a shame to lose something so fine, don't it lads?"

"Aye." The crew agreed.

"So I'll be having that dress back before you go." I snorted. Dirty old pervert.

"I always liked you." Jack said to the Jamaican pirate who growled back.

"It goes with your black heart." She snapped, throwing it at him. He chortled. HA! And held it to his face.

"Ooh, it's still warm." He said turning to face the crew and he tossed it at another member. They howled with laughter.

"Off you go! Come on!" If I were a pirate, I would've pushed her off by now, she was taking so damn long.

"Too long!" Apparently Bo'sun had agreed with me and violently stepped on the plank, jolting it and causing her to fall off. Jack laughed with them a bit until the shoved him to be next.

"I'd really rather hoped we were past all this." He said, turning to face Barbossa. I laughed at their height difference.

"Jack… Jack…" Barbossa clapped a hand on Jack's shoulder, "Did ya not notice? That be the same little island that we made you Governor of on our last little trip." Jack glanced at the island before looking back at his mutinous first mate.

"I did notice."

"Perhaps you'll be able to conjure up another miraculous escape…but I doubt it." He unsheathed his sword and brandished it at Jack's throat. "Off you go."

"Last time, you left me a pistol with one shot." Jack smiled, biding his time.

"By the powers, you're right! Were be Jack's pistol? Bring it forward." Barbossa ordered. He seemed to be in a very mocking mood today…

"Seeing as there's two of us, a gentleman…would give us a pair of pistols." He couldn't delay it any further, but I gave him points for trying.

"It'll be one pistol as before, and you can be the gentleman and shoot the lady and starve to death yourself."And Barbossa threw Jack's effects overboard. Jack spared me a glance,

"I'll be coming back for you love," he mouthed before diving off. Barbossa turned to me after ordering the crew and Will be locked in the brigs,

"Aye, lass, you haven't said a word since announcing who ye are,"

"So what you douche bag?" He raised his eyebrow,

"And what be that?"

"A vaginal cleaner," I replied insolently. He growled,

"Take her to the brigs!" he barked, "And lock her up with her brother!" So then I was jostled down below and thrown into a cell with Will. He caught me before I fell and shook me,

"Why did you do that?" he cried, not he wasn't weeping… I failed to answer. Why had I? He let me go and turned away from me, exasperated. Then I remembered,

"I already know what's going to happen," I smiled, "I'm just here for the ride."

"If you already know what's going to happen," He faced me, "Will Elizabeth be alright?" I raised my eyebrow.

"I can't tell you. If I did, based off what I told you, you might act in a manner that would otherwise contradict what you would do if I hadn't told you." He stared at me before nodding. He didn't say anything to me for a while. An hour or so later, Pintel and Ragetti came down to swab the floors.

"Awwk, shiver me timbers." Mr. Cotton's Parrot squawked.

"Cotton 'ere says you missed a bit." Gibbs pointed out helpfully. I snorted as Pintel smacked the cell door with the filthy mop.

"You knew William Turner?" Will asked, leaning against the door.

"Ol' Bootstrap Bill. We knew him. Never sat well with Bootstrap what we did to Jack Sparrow, the mutiny and all. He said it wasn't right with the Code. That's why he sent off a piece of the treasure to you as it were. He said we deserved to be cursed… and remain cursed." Pintel said gruffly. I placed a comforting hand on Will's back.

"Stupid blighter." Ragetti's lip curled.

"Good man." Gibbs shot back. I nodded, glaring at Tweedle-Dee and Tweedle-Dum.

"Well, as you can imagine that didn't sit too well with the Captain." Pintel continued with a malevolent smile.

"That didn't sit too well with the Captain, at all." Ragetti chuckled, "Tell him what Barbossa did."

"I'm telling the story!" Pintel replied loudly like a selfish child, "So…what the Captain did, he strapped a cannon to Bootstraps' bootstraps."

"Bootstraps' bootstraps." Ragetti echoed, leaning on his mop.

"The last we saw of ol' Bill Turner, he was sinking to the crushing black oblivion of Davy Jones' Locker." Will's muscles tensed beneath my hand. "'Course it was only after that we learned we needed his blood to lift the curse." Pintel mused.

"That's what you call ironic." They looked at each other and began to chuckle. They stopped and I turned my head to see Barbossa standing in the stairwell with a few crew members.

"Bring them!" He ordered, chucking the keys at Ragetti's face.

---

For those of you who are pointing at Ashlyn and shrieking, "MARY-SUE! RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!" I know, I know. "Why did Barbossa and the crew believe her?" If you think about it, seeing that they royally screwed up the first time, they wouldn't take any chances the second time. Secondly, Ashlyn wasn't thinking, then again, she kinda was. Afterall, she knows what's going to happen. I know what's going to happen, Hell, _you_ know what's going to happens, so she kinda sees it as a bit of a game. No, she doesn't _love_ Will. Okay, well, she kinda does, but in that, "I have these feelings for this guy and since I don't know what to call them, I'll just cliché-ly label them love" kinda way, you know?


	9. Once More Interrupted

Disclaimer: See chapter 1.

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Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Bag

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Chapter 9: Once More Interrupted

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Will and I were manhandled into a little boat with another pirate who rowed us to the cave. Then, we were forcefully shoved out, Pintel leading the way.

"No reason to fret. It's just a prick of the finger, a few drops of blood." He said, morbidly cheerful. Twigg clapped a hand on either of our shoulders.

"No mistakes this time. They're only half-Turner. We spill it all and then we'll make on Turner!" He breathed in my face and I strongly resisted the urge to upchuck in his face. Not that I'm weak of stomach, mind you, bust just so he'd _bathe_ for Christ's sakes.

"Guess there is reason to fret." I heard Pintel say to Ragetti as the other pirates pushed us forward. They made this whole big deal off things and I was to wait beside Will with another pirate making sure that I 'didn't do nothing funny'. Barbossa stood by two other pirates who held Will down. I prayed to God that Jack would hurry up. The pirates began chanting. If you can really call that chanting that is. It just sounded like they were repeating "Hoe!" over and over and over again.

"Beg your pardon." I heard someone say. I looked up and grinned. Speak of the devil.

"Begun by blood…" Barbossa began vividly.

"Excuse me."

"…by blood un-" Everything died down and Jack waved his arms to stop and silence them.

"Jack!" Will and I exclaimed at the same time. I felt a bubble of happiness swell within me. Or maybe it was just indigestion…

"It's not possible." Barbossa's yellow eyes were wide, as if he had seen a ghost. I nearly laughed. And he was supposed to be the cursed one!

"Not probable." Jack quipped. I grinned.

"Where's Elizabeth?" Will demanded. I tutted. Ever the child.

"She's safe, just like _I_ promised. She's all set to marry Norrington, just like _she_ promised. You get to die for her, just like _you_ promised. And Ashlyn has been here for the ride, just like _she_ promised So we're all men of our word really except for Elizabeth and Ashlyn who are, in fact, women." I rolled my eyes. What? Did I not have enough boobage to prove I was female?

"Shut up! You're next." Barbossa sounded like a spiteful child whose party had just been stopped. He leaned forward, the stone blade pressed against Will's throat. I smirked to see the bruises I had made had not faded away yet.

"You don't want to be doing that, mate." Jack suggested.

"No, I really think I do." Barbossa replied, his patience running thin.

"Your funeral." Jack replied in that infuriating way, shrugging to add to the affect. I saw Barbossa roll his eyes before standing upright.

"_Why_ don't I want to be doing it?" He asked, clearly frustrated.

"Well, because," He swatted Bo'sun's hand off his shoulder, "Because the _HMS Dauntless, _pride of the Royal Navy, is floating just offshore." Jack made his way up towards the stone chest, "Waiting for you."

"Just hear me out, mate. You order your men to row out to the _Dauntless_. They do what they do best." The pirates chuckled and I rolled my eyes. Suck up, "Robert's your Uncle, Fannie's your Aunt, there you are with two ships. The makings of your very own fleet. 'Course you'll take the grandest as your flagship, and who's to argue? But what of the _Pearl_? Name me Captain, I'll sail under your colors, I'll give you ten percent of me plunder and you get to introduce yourself as…Commodore Barbossa. Savvy?" Jack was making the idea sound very attractive and I could see from the look on Barbossa's face that he was growing on it.

"I s'pose in exchange, you want me not to kill the whelp and the girl." Barbossa said expectantly.

"No, no, not at all by all means, kill the whelp _and_ the girl." I stuck my tongue out at him. Traitor! "Just not yet. Wait to lift the curse until the opportune moment." Jack looked at the two of us. "For instance…" He scooped up a handful of the cursed coins. "After you've killed Norrington's men," The gold piece clinked down. "Every," Another. "Last." Another. "One." Another. And from the corner of my eye, I saw Jack slip the last coin up his sleeve before flexing his hand. I glanced at Will. He had caught on.

"You've been planning this from the beginning. Ever since you learned my name." Will narrowed his eyes.

"Yeah." Jack had a look of 'Well, DUH' upon his face.

"Wait," Barbossa turned to me, "Then, you're not a Turner?" I shook my head.

"Nope. I just didn't want to go for a swim." Barbossa growled before turning on Jack.

"I want fifty percent of your plunder, seeing the trouble this lass has given me." He jerked a thumb at me.

"Fifteen." Jack countered.

"Forty." Barbossa gave him a challenging glare.

"Twenty-five." He compromised. "And I'll buy you the hat. A really big one…Commodore," Jack grinned. Barbossa returned the gesture.

"We have an accord." And they shook on it.

"All hand's to the boats!" Jack announced. He then saw Barbossa give him a look of askance, "Apologies. You give the orders." And Jack did a little mock Chinese bow. I snorted.

"Gents!" Barbossa paused dramatically, "Take a walk."

"Not to the boats?" Jack looked particularly crestfallen. Will and I were forced to stand, though our guards had lessened to one each.

"Can I sit down?" I was answered with a snarl, "I'll take that as a no," I shrugged.

"I must admit, Jack, I thought I had ye figured. But it turns out that you're a hard man to predict." Barbossa said, giving Jack a slightly backhanded compliment. Jack was busy digging around the ten years hoard of treasure.

"Me? I'm dishonest. And a dishonest man you can always trust to be dishonest." He threw a golden statue of Amida Buddha over his shoulder, "Honestly." He assured Barbossa, "It's the honest ones you want to watch out for, because you can never predict when they're going to do something incredibly… stupid." And he drew out another pirate's sword before kicking him in the ass and making him fall face first into the water. He tossed the sword at Will who moved his tied wrists awkwardly to catch it. Pushing his guard, he used another pirates blow to slice through his bonds. I kicked up, as high as I could and hit my guard in the face.

"Thank you!" I sang as Will cut through the rope around my wrist while dodging a plow from the bomb pirate, "Poppins, sai!"

"Yes, your strumpet-ness," I raised an eyebrow. It seemed Poppins witty remarks had made their return. I twirled the blades in my hand my hand before blocking and fighting off my guard. I laughed, countering his swipe and side kicking him in the stomach. I glanced over at Jack to see him slice off Barbossa's hat feathers,

"Ha, ha!"

Barbossa snarled and Jack dashed back and turned in time to parry.

"You're off the edge of the map, mate. Here there be monsters." I heard Barbossa say to Jack,

"Yeah, monsters alright," I shouted, "Monsters up your-" but I was socked in the face, "That wasn't very nice," I spat, flicking one of my sai at the pirate. It hit him, dead on the heart. He stumbled back into the moonlight and yanked it out. With a grin, he threw it back. I caught it, used the momentum to spin, and gave him a taste of my hook kick. My knee caught onto his neck and he went down. I looked over to see how Will was doing. He was busy fighting two other pirates. I rushed over to help him before feeling a cold yet searing sensation along my back. So this is what it feels like to be cut open. I thought mildly. I could feel the back of my shirt and bra become loose. The asshole had sliced open my back. Luckily, I had deposited Poppins next to the chest. Growling, I kicked the pirate in the nuts. He went down with a shriek and I was convinced he wouldn't pop back up anytime soon. I looked over my shoulder at my back. Crimson had bloomed over the creamy white fabric. I dropped to one knee, unexpectedly weak,

"Whoa there." I blinked a few times. It was suddenly hard to stay awake. I couldn't have lost that much blood. I pushed myself up and watched as Jack and Barbossa fought their way up the incline. Barbossa kicked Jack in the face and threw down his sword.

"You can't beat me, Jack." The said pirate thrusted and pierced Barbossa in the gut. With a sigh and a roll of his eyes, Barbossa took out the sword and stabbed him in return.

"Jack!" I screamed and I attempted to run over, the pirate, who was still lying on the ground in pain, grabbed my ankle. I land on my stomach. With a snarl I turned around and deftly cut off his hand. I watched with horror as Jackstaggered backwards into the moonlight. His body decayed and his clothes became rags, worn to threads by time. He studied his skeletal hand in the limited light.

"That's interesting." The gold coin filtered between his fingers. "I couldn't resist, mate." Barbossa exhaled sharply and making a rat like face, picked up his sword and tossed some treasure at Jack. They continued fighting and when they ran by me, Jack upset an end table, knocking it into me. "Sorry." He called back. I rolled my eyes and stood. I wavered on my feet but pressed on, running over to help Will.

"So what now, Jack Sparrow? Will it be it two immortals locked in an epic battle until Judgment Day and trumpets sound? Hmm?"

"Or you could surrender." I heard Jack offer before the fight proceeded.

"Arrrrrrr!" I heard a crack as he delivered a fist to Jack's face. He laughed as Jack skirted away. The smoking pirate chucked a bomb in our way,

"Hit the deck!" and I tackled Will into the freezing water,

"What deck?" he asked. I shrugged,

"I've always wanted to say that."

"Ashlyn!" He pulled his hand away from my back. It was stained with blood, "You're hurt!"

"I'm gonna teach you the meaning of pain." Isomersaulted out of the way, pushing Will, but he didn't budge. I _refused_ to have my hide saved by Elizabeth.

"Do you like pain?" I rolled my eyes, "Try wearing a corset." Breathing was becoming harder; so was keeping my eyes opened. "Whose side is Jack on?" She demanded.

"At the moment?" Will mused. I didn't watch as they did whatever the hell they did. I leaned against the pile of treasure where the chest was, a feeling of nausea sweeping over me.

"No fair." And there was a small explosion. I rolled my eyes. Drama queens. Will dashed over to me,

"Ashlyn! You have to-"

"Go!" I shouted, pushing him with what was left of my waning strength. I looked up to see Jack cut his hand, clench the coin and toss it at Will. Barbossa pulled out his pistol and aimed at Elizabeth. "Get down!" she looked at me rather stupidly before seeing down the barrel of th gun. There was a shot and Elizabeth drew in a shuddering breath at the sight of Jack with his smoking pistol.I sighed in relief. Good, I thought, I can finally… Finally go… to sleep… My eyes closed and I felt myself drifting somewhere between conscious and dreaming. I could still hear people talking.

"Ten years you carry that pistol, and now you waste your shot." Barbossa sneered. A smile played on my lips.

"He didn't waste it." And I heard the deafening clink of the last gold piece falling into the chest.

"I feel…cold." I felt sympathy bloom in my heart. After suffering the curse for ten years, not feeling anything, all he finally felt was the freezing hand of death wrapped around his black heart. My breathing had become shallow and my eyes fluttered open slightly; all I could see was dark shapes around me,

"Wake up, you have to wake up," It was Poppins by my head.

"Ashlyn? Ashlyn please. Please don't leave." That was Will, sitting me up. I felt the sai slip from my hand.

"C'mon love," Jack had pulled me in an embrace, picking me up and moving me to a flatter surface.

"Bring… bring my bag," I said weakly. I saw him nod and Elizabeth brought my bag, closely followed by Will, "Go get your treasure Jack," I smiled, "I'll make them play doctor."

"Ashlyn," I ignored him,

"Poppins. Some ACE bandages. Some really, really long ones." The bag complied and Will helped me sit up. I removed my torn shirt and hissed. The fabric had acted as a bandage against the bleeding; the blood and dried somewhat and became sticky, like an adhesive. I took the ACE bandage and began to wrap myself, from my chest to my stomach. Will tried to help but seeing that he could hold me up _and_ bandage me, he told Elizabeth to do so. Surprisingly, she didn't complain. I finally took the three little hooks and fastened the bandaging in place. I felt a little better and my head had cleared a bit. I heard Jack moving around, picking and choosing some treasure rather noisily. I grinned a little,

"I'll be fine. I just have to get to some water," and Will steadied me on my feet.

"We should return to the Dauntless." Elizabeth said.

"Your fiancé will be wanting to know you're safe." Ohhhhh, not smart young William, not smart at all… I splashed my face with some cold water. Jack and I approached Will.

"If you were waiting for the opportune moment…" Jack began, "That was it. Now, if you'll be so kind, I'd be much obliged if you'd drop me off my ship." I rolled my eyes and slung Poppins over my shoulder. We arrived to the little boat and Will rowed us out. The _Pearl_ was no where in sight.

"I'm sorry, Jack." Elizabeth whispered. My brow creased. I felt rather bad for Jack and I held his hand. He squeezed back, but didn't look at me.

"They done what's right by them. Can't expect more than that." I turned to Elizabeth,

"I can't let anyone see me," She nodded.

"The Commodore has surrendered his cabin to me and won't bother me if I ask. You can bunk there."

"When we get there, get out of the boat love," Jack said, "And swim around back. I'm sure 'Lizzie here can lower a rope of sorts." I inhaled deeply and nodded,

"You don't mind getting wet, do you?" I asked Poppins softly,

"Don't have much of a choice but, yeah, I don't mind. Right before we got there," I carefully got out of the boat, not wanting to tip it over. I sucked in a deep breath as my teeth chattered. The water was freezing! I swam over to the hull of the _Dauntless_ and clung to the rudder.

"Hey Poppins?"

"Yes?"

"What happens now?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well," I fidgeted in the water, "It's almost over. Am I going to have to return home or what? As far as I know, there's no second movie." A rope dropped down into my view. And it was a good thing too. If I had stayed in that water any longer, I would've frozen my toes off. I'm telling you. Climbing _up_ a rope is far more difficult then climbing _down _one. When I finally made it to the top, Elizabeth pulled me in and we tumbled to the ground.

"You should change your bandages," Elizabeth sniffed. I scowled. I wish Anna-Maria was here. Sitting up, I asked Poppins for some fresh clothes. The bag popped open and I pulled out underwear and a chemise. Elizabeth's eyes widened as I began shedding my clothes. Her eyes darted away and she turned around. I rolled my eyes. Prude,

"You're a girl too," I shot, "It's not that big a deal,"

"Well at least _I_ have some propriety." She snubbed airily.

"Propriety my ass," I held the chemise up to my chest. "Help me bandage up will you?"

"You should apply some salve," she said quickly. Poppins popped some salve into existence without me asking. I laid down on the bed, hair swept away from my back. She gasped. I rolled my eyes,

"What? Can't handle the sight of blood?" I sneered,

"No," her voice was filled with amazement, "It's your wound. It's halfway healed,"

"What?" I turned slightly and reached to let my fingers skim my back. My eyes widened. It wasn't fully healed, but it wasn't a bleeding like crazy either. It was a little shorter, a little shallower and I glanced at Poppins accusingly,

"How did this happen?"

"Well," Poppins shifted uncomfortably,

"A talking bag?" Elizabeth gasped finally acknowledging it, putting a hand on my back to lean forward to get a better look. I hissed,

"Can't you shut up?" She saw where her hand was and hastily pulled it back,

"Sorry,"

"Go on Poppins,"

"Well," the bag huffed from being interrupted. "Seeing that you're not from this time _and_ these waters have _some_ magic to them, with the cursed gold and all, it's not a surprise that _you_ heal faster."

"So," I frowned, "Only me then?"

"Yeah,"

"And it's because I'm from the future?"

"Kinda," I shrugged, not caring to think about it any longer,

"Go figure." I sighed. Elizabeth began applying the salve; she had gotten over her initial shock. After helping me with the bandages, she changed into a night gown her father had brought her and promptly went to sleep. I walked over to the Captain's office, which had a door leading to the bedroom where Elizabeth was. I found Will waiting there.

"Ashlyn," he smiled,

"Hey," I replied weakly,

"Is your wound?" he trailed off,

"I'm fine," I brushed it off, "Where's Jack?"

"In the brig," he sighed, "Norrington won't let anyone see him," I frowned,

"Will?" I played with the end of my sleeve, "How do I get off the ship?" Will took a deep breath,

"We'll be arriving in Port Royal in a few days. Maids come and clean the captain's quarters when the crew disembarks." He furrowed his brow in thought. "I'll smuggle you out. You'll have to hide in the smithy until you can escape with Jack," my heart stopped. Escape with Jack? I bit my lip. Did Jack even want me to come along?

---

When we arrived at Port Royal, Will shoved me in a barrel and asked the Commodore if he could take this 'empty' barrel to put donkey feed in it. The Commodore consented and I felt a little bad for Will. He put me on a cart and after a good fifteen minutes, he tapped three times. The signal that I could come out. I came out and looked around. There was an immense pile of orders on a table. I glanced at Will. He sighed,

"I'm sorry I can't entertain you," there was an apologetic smile on his face, "But I have to complete these orders,"

"Its fine," I waved it off. My wound had completely healed and Poppins was on my back, grumbling about something or other; I didn't ask.

"If you want, you can sneak down to the cells to visit Jack tonight," I looked up from make a hole in the dirt ground with my toe,

"Really?" I beamed. It would be good to see Jack. He nodded,

"My room's over there," He pointed off to some door, "You might want to go in there. It get's rather hot when I'm working."

"I know that for sure," I replied slyly. He colored and I laughed manically as I waltzed off to his room. It was plain and simple with a wooden bed in the corner. I lifted the quilts to see one long pillow and two sheets awkwardly stitched together. I poked and prodded to discover that the two sheets held hay together. I sat down on the edge.

"Now what do I do?"

---

Under cover of darkness, I dodged and skirted my way to the holding cells. There wasn't any guards. Good. I straightened and walked calmly over to the descending stairs. Tripping over my fat feet, I stumbled and fell down the stairs.

"Ow," I moaned, "Not again,"

"Who's there?" I looked up. In the candle light stood a single guard.

"I fell," I sniffed. The guard softened and stooped down,

"Are you alright miss?"

"Sucker," I grinned, knocking him out with my fist. "Jack?" I hissed.

"Aye?" I walked over to the middle cell, the same one he was in last time.

"Hey Jack," I smiled,

"Hello love," he grinned, "Just like old times, eh?" I laughed,

"Here," I pulled a loaf of bread and a small bottle of rum that I had nicked from Mr. Brown. His eyes gleamed in the darkness.

"Love, if there wasn't a gate between us, I'd kiss ye," and he devoured the bread. I frowned,

"Are they not feeding you?" he shrugged before taking a swig of the rum,

"Mr. Brown knows his liquor," Jack nodded. I rolled my eyes.

"They're going to hang you tomorrow,"

"Aye," he grinned, "Norrington's a bit sore that I escaped so easily last time," I snorted,

"Easily my ass,"

"Not for you, of course," he took another drink, "You were in a sheet," I narrowed my eyes,

"Shove it." We sat in silence, save for Jack's drinking.

"I meant what I said." He said suddenly. I raised an eyebrow,

"When?" He looked at me with those smoldering chocolate eyes,

"When we were in the crow's nest." I froze. I felt all pigment rush up to my face,

"Jack,"

"It's true. I only would've meant it if I was a scholarly man," I punched him through the weaving.

---

Ha, ha. That was funny. Wow, we're just about done.


	10. An Interrupted Death

Disclaimer: See chapter 1.

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Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Bag

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Chapter 10: An Interrupted Death

---

I stood by a pillar, watching as Jack stood on a platform, hands bound looking straight ahead.

"Jack Sparrow, be it known that you have," the official began, reading from a scroll.

"Captain!" I interjected, "It's _Captain_ Jack Sparrow." Several important looking puffs glared and I gave them my middle finger. Jack grinned,

"For your willful commission of crimes against the crown. Said crimes being numerous in quantity and sinister in nature, the most egregious of these to be cited herewith – piracy, smuggling…" the official droned on.

Will gave me a nod before making his way through the crowd towards Elizabeth. I didn't hear what he said, but I knew exactly what he was saying. I breathed in deeply and clenched my hands around my sai that hung at my waist. Poppins was on my back, whispering worriedly,

"Everything will be fine," I assured it. I scanned the crowd. Will nodded towards me as the noose was placed around Jack's neck and I darted into the crowd,

"Move!" Will bellowed. I cackled madly, swinging my sai expertly so people would step back. Will threw his sword and it landed right below Jack when the trap door was released. His feet skidded and he tried to stay on. Will began his fight with the executioner and I scrambled up the podium. Cutting Jack free, he and I, well, he fell and I simply followed suit, through the trap door. He cut his bonds on the sword.

"Come on," I shouted, Will somersaulted off the scaffold. "Show off," I snapped. He grinned at me. Jack tossed one end of the rope to him and I followed behind, ready to defend them from the back. They tripped three officers and I leapt over them. "Hey! Watch where you leave your mess!"

"Sorry!" Jack called over his shoulder as they rounded a pillar and gave a sharp tug. The men they had roped hit their heads on the stone. I laughed and followed them. Two officers cornered me on the other side of the column. Raising an eyebrow and grinning, I did some fancy twirls and flips with my sai. They looked amazed. I rolled my eyes. Jumping up, I switched my hips so I kicked one and then the other with my opposite foot. I ran over to where Jack and Will were and the three of us were soon surrounded.

"I thought we might have to endure some manner of ill-conceived escape attempt but not from you." Norrington's eyes were narrowed at Will. I bared my teeth in his defense, "And who is this? Your lover perhaps?" I snarled and attempted to scratch out his eyes. A soldier knocked my hand out of the way with his bayonet.

"On our return to Port Royal, I granted you clemency. And this is how you thank me? By throwing in your lot with him? He's a pirate!" Governor Swann put his two cents in.

"And a good man!" Will declared. Beside me, Jack mouthed _That's me!_ I snorted. "If all I have achieved here," Will continued, "is that the hangman will earn two pairs of boots instead of one, so be it. At least my conscience will be clear." I sighed,

"Drama queen," I sang.

"You forget your place, Turner." Norrington threatened dangerously. Oh yeah, like I was really afraid of that wig.

"It's right here…between you and Jack." I grinned,

"Don't count me out," and I stood between Jack and Will, holding hand with both of them. Will smiled at me, giving my hand one last friendly squeeze.

"I as well," Elizabeth joined Will. I sighed. If she was doing, it just wasn't cool anymore.

"Elizabeth!" her windbag father sputtered, "Lower your weapons. For goodness' sake put them down!" He waved about his frilly sleeves. The men lowered their weapons. I raised an eyebrow. I guess there were perks to being the Governor's daughter.

"So this is where your heart truly lies, then?" I frowned. Poor guy. As much as he was an asshole, I think he really liked Elizabeth.

"It is." She smiled coyly at Will. I gagged in the background. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Jack notice Mr. Cotton's parrot.

"Well! I'm actually feeling rather good about this." He approached Governor Swann, "I think we've all arrived at a very special place, eh? Spiritually…Ecumenically…Grammatically?" He turned to Norrington, "I want you to know that I was rooting for you, mate. Know that." He whipped around to Elizabeth, "Elizabeth …it would never have worked between us, darling. I'm sorry. Will …nice hat and… take care of Ashlyn will you?" I blanched,

"Aw, _hell_ no!" I grabbed his hand tightly, "I'm coming with you Jack," He grinned,

"Was hoping you'd say that." I smiled back and turned to the crowd,

"Seeing that we've all been saying the things that have been on our mind," I cleared my throat, "Gov'na, you're a windbag, but you're a cool windbag. Norrington? As much as I have to admit that you're an asshole," he glared at me, "You're pretty awesome. Elizabeth doesn't deserve you. Lizzie?" I looked at her, "You're a bitch. Treat Will nicely or I really will bust your head like a piece of fruit and Will?" I grinned, "Dear, dear William. You have great sex," Governor Swann and Norrington sputtered. Elizabeth's eyes became the size of watermelons as Will colored. Jack gave a hearty laugh as we walked backwards.

"Friends! This is the day that you will always remember as the day that-" I rolled my eyes,

"Oh, shove it up your ass Jack," I threw my arms around his neck and we both plummeted to the sea. We came up, gasping for air,

"What was that for?" he demanded as we swam out,

"For being a dork,"

"What's that?" I sighed,

"Oh, forget it!" and he laughed. Jack grabbed me and held on.

"Pet, I'll have you know that once you're on the _Pearl_, you'll be a marked man… woman…" I giggled,

"I wouldn't have it any other way."

"Good," he grabbed a rope that Gibbs had thrown out to us and pulling me with him, we soared out of the water and on deck. We landed in a tangled heap by the wheel and I laughed,

"I thought you were supposed to keep to the code?" Jack quirked an eyebrow as Gibbs, Anna-Maria and the rest of the crew came running up to us.

"We figured they were more actual guidelines," the crew chuckled. Anna-Maria pulled me to my feet as Gibbs pulled Jack to his. She grinned at me and I returned the favor. I pulled Poppins off to check if it was okay. I raised both eye brows. It was already dry,

"Can I have my iPod?"

"I guess that means you're staying?" I smiled,

"I guess." I turned, putting my headphones on and watching as a smiling Cotton handed Jack his hat.

"Thank you,"

"Captain Sparrow," Anna-Maria set his coat on his shoulders. "The _Black Pearl_ is yours." Jack looked around fondly, gently placing a hand on the wheel and feeling along the wood. I turned my music on and grinned as one of my favorite songs began to play. Suddenly aware that the crew was watching, Jack began to bark orders,

"On deck, you scabrous dogs! Man the braces! Let down and haul to run free." He turned to me and pulled me beside him, "Now..." he looked out to sea, "Bring me that horizon." He began to hum and pulled out his compass, "And really bad eggs…drink up, me 'earties, yo ho." He grinned at me snapping the compass shut. I smirked back,

"Jack? I think I have a better theme song for you." And I set one ear bud in his ear, keeping the other one in mine.

I restarted the song and watched with a growing fondness as his grin slowly grew wider.

FIN.

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Oh man. Ten chapters. Not too bad, huh? Don't worry. There will be a Pirates of the Caribbean 1.5: Adventures of Jack and Ashlyn. That takes place between this and Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Squirrel's Best. ARGH and now I have to wait for that DVD to come out. RAWR.

Thanks for reading.


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